Rating: 
Summary: A Definite Woman's Book
Review: This is not a bad book. It does get a bit melodramatic, and Martha Claire is a bit too much to be believed. Would a man like Grayson stick around all those years with a woman who is as self-suffering as she is? I liked the interplay within this family, and I liked the setting. I have never seen Columbus Texas, but Ms. Wall certainly writes like she knows it well. Justine and Iris are wonderful characters. I would not have enjoyed the book without them. As for Cissy - I found that I didn't get to feel the same affinity for her. I found her a bit "milksoppy". Still the book is worth the read for the sense of belonging in this town and in this era.
Rating: 
Summary: Small-Town Texas Families
Review: This novel is set in a small town in Texas and begins when Martha Claire is hastily wed on the eve of her husband, Grayson's, departure for World War II. Her sister, Justine, far more adventurous than Martha Claire, also heads off to war to join the WACS. Grayson returns years later a changed man, and Justine returns pregnant and unwed. In order to preserve the family's reputation, a dead spouse is invented for Justine, and after the child, Iris, is born, she is turned over to Martha Claire and Grayson to raise while Justine pursues a glamorous career in photography. Since Martha Claire and Grayson are childless, Iris is as beloved as their own daughter would be. Several years later, they adopt two other children, Cissy and Buddy and for some time their family seems complete.Martha Claire eventually learns who fathered Iris, and the news devastates their home life. She becomes bitter and resentful, drives Grayson away and her unhappiness infects everyone around her. Cissy becomes obsessed with knowing the secrets of her real parents and trying to unravel the mysteries that caused the deterioration of their happy home. Happiness, pain, bitterness and forgiveness are woven throughout this novel into an enthralling combination that will keep you turning the pages to learn why the characters are motivated to act as they do, and to discover how they can rebuild their lives. The characters are finely drawn, real people whose joy and misery become your own through the masterful storytelling of Judith Henry Wall.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Story that kept me reading
Review: What a wonderful story spanning several decades! I found myself unable to put it down until I found out how the lives of all involved turned out. Although it was depressing at times because I was so caught up in the lives of the characters, I enjoyed the entirety of the book. I've been reading quite a bit lately and this is the one book this year that has really made me think that there was something underneath just the story - which is this: Each and every choice you make in life, can not only change the course of your own life, but the lives of those around you quite profoundly. In this book, it only begins with Justine choosing to join the WAC during WWII and Martha Claire choosing to raise a family in her hometown with her high school sweetheart. Those seemingly separate choices intertwine to affect all that join their family subsequently in ways they never imagined. I love this book and will surely read it again someday. I rated it 4 stars, because of the sadness I felt for some of the characters at times. Ironically, for that, it should be rated 5 stars.
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