Sarah's Window

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Escape
Review: I truly enjoyed Janice Graham's first novel, "Firebird" and eagerly awaited her second. "Sarah's Window" was well worth the wait. I started this last night and couldn't stop till the last page. It is the story of Sarah Bryden, an artist forced to give up on college and come home to the Flint Hills and care for her grandparents. She waitress's by day and paints in her room at night. A physicist, his wife and adopted son move to the area and Sarah is drawn to the family as a caretaker for the child. Sarah can get close to this child whereas the adopted parents have never been able to. John the husband is drawn to Sarah her beauty and talent. The story that unfolds is captivating in wanting to know how these people will come to find true love and their innerselves. "Sarah's Window" is the perfect love story to warm your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable and sweet
Review: The plot has been well summarized below, so I'll just do a quick sketch. Sarah has been living in a small Kansas town after suffering her own personal tragedy, painting, waitressing and basically dreaming her life away. Then Susan and John Wilde come to town with their newly adopted frail baby. Susan can't bond with the baby and John brings Sarah the baby to tend while Susan goes into therapy and they try to patch up the marriage. Of course Sarah bonds with the baby, but has to give it back. John is an intellectual physicist who is touched by Sarah's love for the baby and begins to feel strongly towards Sarah. The feeling is mutual, but he's married. After a horrible tragedy the story starts to take a different path.

I found John to be an atypical romance hero, but a realistic one. Not every guy is drop dead gorgeous and a millionaire or Duke. What touched me about him was his love for the adopted son, and how it opened up both he and Sarah to the possibility of love for themselves. John and Sarah have been two misfits, but they go together beautifully, connecting on a spiritual and intellectual level. It was a pleasure to read about a couple with such knowledge of both science and art, and how life weaves into both.

Yes, the ending was a bit soapy, but I liked it. It was beautiful to see John and Sarah share their own miracle after so much pain in their lives.

Rating:
Summary: This book shines through Sarah's Window
Review: This morning, I finished Sarah's Window by Janice Graham, and wish I could be reading it for the first time. While browsing at a bookstore recently I was attracted to this title by the lovely cover of the book. I quickly read the dust jacket and decided to purchase this book and couldn't wait to read it. But when I returned home and read about the author on the back of the book, I realized that I had read Janice Graham's first book, Firebird, and didn't much care for it. I really did begin to wonder how I would enjoy Sarah's Window. Well, I come here now to say that sometimes you can judge a book by its cover and always give an author a second chance.

Sarah Bryden is a young woman living in the area of the Flint Hills of Kansas. With dreams of studying art at the University, she's foced to return home when her grandfather suffers a devestating accident. Raised by her grandparents after her mother dies, Sarah works as a waitress at a local cafe, paitinting in her spare time and attracting the heart of a widowed high school teacher who once taught her. Unfortunately, an ill fated love affair a number of years ago has left Sarah resigned to the single life she now leads.

Into her midst comes John Wilde, a professor of physics from California, who will be working in the area for a couple of months. He also brings with him his wife, a former resident of the town, and their difficult adopted baby. When Sarah becomes acquainted with the family there is almost an instant bond between baby, Will and Sarah. It seems as though only she can quiet him down, feed him and put him to bed. When Will's mother is hurt in an auto accident she is only too happy to care for the baby. As the weeks go by, Sarah and John Wilde find their relationship slowly changing from friends to something more leaving readers to wonder how this wil be resolved in the end.

Graham, with beautiful words and pasages not only captures the landscape of this area but the interior landscape of these characters. I literally gulped this book down holding my breath till I read the last page. Not only was this a memorable read but again was a valuable learning experience. When a book beckons for whatever reason or you have a gut instinct while holding a title, do read it despite any previous experiences. You may be as suprised as I was with this book or another one. Now I am planning on reading Firebird again. I'm hoping that the second time around I enjoy Graham's first book as much as I enjoyed Sarah's Window.