Tending Roses

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read!
Review: What a fabulous book! I came across it in the bookstore and was drawn to it for reasons I can't explain. I was not disappointed. This is a book you don't put down until you're finished. I found myself remembering my childhood, and Grandma Rose could have been either of my grandmothers. I found myself thinking mostly of a great-aunt of mine who lived on a farm. I loved how Grandma Rose's book kept appearing at all the right times, and I highly suspect she knew exactly when Kate needed a story from Grandma. This is truly a special book, and I can't wait to tell my friends about it. This book will touch your life in ways you won't expect. I know that's what it did for me.

Rating:
Summary: Heard about it from Oprah
Review: I kept hearing about Tending Roses on the Oprah chat board. Finally, I had to get a copy. Honestly, I started it thinking it couldn't possibly live up to all the things people said. After reading it, though, I have to say it was a truly great, very special book, and I can see why people feel compelled to talk about it. It is a beautiful story about the life journey from a writer who has an amazing empathy for the human condition. It is not just at "woman's book", but an outstanding piece of literature with an important message that should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A true heartwarming experience
Review: One for my home library that will rank with my treasures. I can guarantee I will read it again when I need to be comforted and reminded of what is important in life. The setting is homespun and reads like a recipe we should all be making our lives from--people are important, all else is second rate. The writer depicts believeable, realistic characters whose lives you feel a part of from the first page on...each word makes you feel as though you are an invisible person in the room and captured me totally as I read--who needs an expensive vacation--my life just disappere while involved in theirs. You feel ALL their emotions, the anger, the embarrasment, the righteousness and the love but most of all you sense, feel and know where it all came from...I wish there were a dozen more like it.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!!!
Review: This book is a perfect book for anyone at a crossroads in their life. It will inspire you to review your way of life, beckon you to renew your relationships with family and friends and make you focus on the important things in life. Lisa Wingate writes about a society in general who is in the fast lane and needing to slow down. It will make you think about your own way of life and possibly make you reevaluate it.

Rating:
Summary: Now Here's a Book that SHOULD be Hyped!
Review: Finally, a book that is worthy of the hype it has received! Unlike many of the "media darling" books this summer, Tending Roses lives up to hype. It is thought provoking and written with literary skill, as well as a feeling for the characters. It is a truly quality work, and the author knows how to create a fully-rounded, emotional experience. The characters are fully realized and the family relationships not contrived in the least. This is proof that a book can be interesting, realistic, emotional and still great literary fiction!

I hardly ever give five-star reviews, but this novel gets a five from me. It is one I will keep and read again. I only wish I had saved my money on some others and bought this one first.

Rating:
Summary: Tending Roses
Review: I loved this book! While it is entertaining and a quick read, it also has a strong thread of spirtuality that runs through it without being overt. I've read several passages again and again because they were so truly pure and meaningful. It made me reconsider many issues in my own life. I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: The perfect gift for Grandma, or Mom, or sisters...
Review: There isn't a mother, grandmother, sister, or friend out there who won't love this book as a gift. Tending Roses is a book everyone can relate to. It is about being a woman and a mother, and also about a granddaughter and grandmother getting to know and love each other through a journal, and the special love between different generations.

I gave this book to my grandmother, and she absolutely loved it. It is now circulating the (unofficial) book club at the retirement home. My grandmother had a lot of the same memories as Grandma Rose did in the book. Since she read it, she has been telling us some old stories we had never heard before about her life, and she is even writing some down. Maybe she will be another Grandma Rose! I am so glad I gave her this book. It has given us a lot to talk about.

Rating:
Summary: A book more important now than ever!
Review: In the wake of this national tragedy, Tending Roses meant a lot to me. I work an airline, so the last week has been stressful, sad, and frightening for our family. A friend gave me Tending Roses to take my mind off of it.

Not only did this book help to pull me out of my sadness, it reminded me to cling to the things that are most important. Grandma Rose reminded me (as she does for the younger characters in the story) that our older generation has gone through many hardships, wars, and uncertain times, and has emerged stronger. I am determined now to count the good things in my life, and to really focus on what will matter when I look back someday. Grandma Rose reminded me to face hardship with determination.

Grandma Rose is the wise, steadfast grandparent all of us could use right now. Thank you Lisa Wingate for sharing her with the world.

Rating:
Summary: A story to touch our hearts
Review: Kate and Ben's struggle to sort through the distractions in life and find a deeper meaning will
resonate with readers everywhere. Grandma Rose - gruff, imperfect, and lovable -- came to
vivid life in this fascinating story of a family's journey through difficult times. Many of today's social problems would benefit from the deceptively simple message of Tending
Roses.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent summer read
Review: This book was one of the best books I read this summer. It's one of those books that makes you stop and think about the simple things in life. Think about what important and what isn't important. I've recommended it to many of my friends.