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Summary: Messages for today's society
Review: "Tending Roses" was a book picked for an online book club I am in. It is not a book that I would have ever picked up on my own, so I am extremely glad that I am a part of this book club.Kate Bowman and her husband Ben and infant son Joshua have temporarily moved from Chicago to Hindsville, MO to prepare Kate's grandmother, Rose Vongortler, for an impending move to a nursing home. Grandma Rose has recently had a stroke and though she has physically recovered, her mental abilities come and go. Her daughter, Jeane and son Jack (Kate's father) decided a nursing home was best when Grandma Rose left the iron on and nearly burned down her house. While Kate is there, Grandma Rose has a few other household accidents. The focus of this book is how Kate comes to realize that though Grandma Rose is unable to care for herself, she still has much wisdom to impart - which she does by means of a journal that she places strategically for Kate to read. This book has many messages about us and our society - simplifying life, caring for the elderly and so on. It is a wonderful read and will certainly make you think!
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Summary: I could not put it down
Review: My mother had been telling me for a while to read this book. I had resisted, because she and I usually don'tlike the same books. I am generally a reader of mystery/suspense. BUT, I have to say that Tending Roses made a convert out of me. I am used to books that captivate me with action and mystery. This book captivated me with real characters, realistic questions about life, and a writing style that was just magical. From the first page to the last, I could not put it down. I read it in two days, laughed, cried, saved it for my bookshelf, and thanked my mother for telling me to read it. A quick, but truly emotional read.
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Summary: A five-star read!
Review: I loved this book. The setting was so real and believable and the writing transported me to the farm in Missouri. I could see members of my own family in these wonderful, touching characters. The writer dealt with so many important subjects in such a touching way--old age, family struggles, more money vs more time, child rearing, what is important in life. This is one of those books that really makes you look at your own life and think about what matters. I picked it up thinking I would read just a page or two before going to bed, and I stayed up almost all night. It is that good!
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Summary: I really wanted to like this book . . .
Review: I really wanted to like this book. It was heartwarming, touching, the setting was nice, and the characters were believeable. But I just could not care about their problems. There just seemed to be too many problems, and they seemed too ordinary. In the end, the writing style and the plot, while nice, could not generate in me enough interest to get me to want to keep reading. It's a nice book for somebody, but the pace was just too slow for me.
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Summary: wonderful and tender very real
Review: I bought this book as bedtime reading. Little did I know I would be captivated by the family written about in the book. I wanted to see the relationship of each member and how the book ended. I loved the book and it was a very quick read. I only wish there were more like this story.
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Summary: TENDING ROSES is a beautiful book! Deborah Embree, Nashville
Review: I checked TENDING ROSES out of the library on a rainy fall afternoon and finished it by midnight. I am touched to the heart by this panorama of family relationships as told by Kate - family problems and joys that mix as Grandma Rose in the story writes, " Birth and death are such strange cousins." This book will make you think about people you love and the sometimes awkward beginnings love takes in all of us. I want to read more by this author!!!
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Summary: Heartfelt and compelling
Review: A wonderful tale that will leave you craving the next book from this perceptive and gifted author. Lisa Wingate creates a vivid portrait of a Midwestern family facing some of life's most difficult decisions. I could very much relate to this story and believe many readers will find their own families in these pages. Particularly compelling is the wise yet crotchety matriarch, who could teach us all a thing or two. Tending Roses is full of wisdom about family and love and what life should be all about. Highly recommended.
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Summary: A Must Read - Beautiful and Touching
Review: Every once in a while you are blessed to read a novel that uplifts and inspires, causes you to cherish the important relationships in your life and touches your heart. All within an engaging novel with interesting characters. I have been doubly blessed this spring with both Tending Roses and Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin. These are absolute must reads that will change your heart in beautiful ways.
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Summary: Back to what's important
Review: Incredible little book about a granddaughter who goes back to spend time with her aging grandmother to get her ready for the distant family to move her into a nursing home. The relationship that develops not only between Grandma and Kate but also between them and the rest of the family and friends, even, is one that will make you laugh and cry and - most of all - think. Keep reading to the end - the little wonders you find throughout culminate in Grandma's "secret" to a long life...something I needed to realize, for sure!
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Summary: Little Gems Everywhere!
Review: Tending Roses was recommended to me by a friend who said the book was her favorite ever. After reading Tending Roses, I had to agree with my friend that Tending Roses is indeed a very special book, and anyone who reads it will feel blessed. The journal Grandma Rose writes for her granddaughter is filled with little gems of wisdom, many of which deal with our modern problems, and how we might lead simpler, more fulfilled lives. Since reading this book, I have been recommending it to everyone, and bought it for my mother, grandmothers and two aunts for Mothers Day. It is a perfect book to share with anyone you love, but don't forget to treat yourself to this little gem first!
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