Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: IDA MAE TUTWEILER & HER TRAVELING TEA PARTY is about women: mothers and daughters, sisters, friends. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it certainly will make you think. Ultimately, the story distills to a psalm showcasing the power of love, set against the ritual of an old-fashioned tea party. Author Ginnie Bivona even includes some lovely recipes for the readers' own teas.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: IDA MAE TUTWEILER & HER TRAVELING TEA PARTY is about women: mothers and daughters, sisters, friends. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it certainly will make you think. Ultimately, the story distills to a psalm showcasing the power of love, set against the ritual of an old-fashioned tea party. Author Ginnie Bivona even includes some lovely recipes for the readers' own teas.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple, Charming Yarn
Review: Ida Mae Tutweiler is pleasantly surprised to learn her oldest and dearest friend Jane is coming to town for a visit. In preparation, Ida Mae places her heirloom china tea set on the table, puts the water on the stove and even finds a few cookies to share. The scene is set for a relaxing catch-up session between two unlikely pals. But when Jane arrives, she brings tragic news, and Ida Mae's life is never the same.Ida Mae is a woman of her time -- which to the modern reader feels incredibly homespun and old-fashioned. Her personality is offered in snippets of journal entries and first person narratives, which provide a history of broken hearts and haughty relatives. Jane, on the other hand, is flamboyant and fresh. She's an actress with a flair for entrances and exits, but one who hasn't let celebrity cloud her understanding of real friendship. Even her poor decision-making skills are endearing and understandable. However, her decision to enjoy one last tea party with her more steadfast counterpart is a wise one, and gives this tender story a glimpse at the unbreakable bond of their friendship. Ginnie Siena Bivona has a gift for using all the reader's senses. Close your eyes and feel the old South emerge in this tale. Listen for the strains of Billie Holiday coming from the parlor. Feel the warmth of the summer sun on your skin. Hear the sound of children's feel slapping against the wood floor. Taste the sweet
jam slathered on homemade scones. "Ida Mae Tutweiler and the Traveling Tea Party" is a simple, charming little yarn, delicate as a crocheted lace doily. Bivona's writing is crisp and fast-paced, and her storytelling skills will invoke long-forgotten memories of how good a cup of tea with friends can taste at the end of an afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel of Literary Merit
Review: In this novel of literary merit, Ms. Bivona takes us on a wonderful journey through a lifelong friendship ... the kind that all women long to have ... a friendship full of generosity of spirit, courage and understanding during the darkest of times, and like a really good cup of tea, satisfying to the end.
Rating:
Summary: For The Love of Friendship
Review: Long after I had finished the final page, Ida Mae has stayed with me. This small jewel of a story revolves around a number of inter-related themes--romantic love, the love of mothers and daughters, the rites of passage through this crazy life, the connection we feel with those to whom we can confess. But it is this last--the pure though convoluted relationships we forge with our friends that weaves through this story with such subtle power. If you have ever had a best friend, you will instantly connect with this book. And, if you're lucky enough, you may even feel the whispers of that friendship brush across your skin while you read.
Rating:
Summary: This book will touch your heart
Review: My husband brought Ginnie's book home yesterday from a booksigning at Barnes and Noble saying that she told him it is a woman'sbook. We know Ginnie from several years ago and we're pleased to see a book of hers published. I took a look one at it and started reading it. I didn't stop until I finished. I loved it! It's a wonderful story. In a short amount of time, she created real people and lives. I especially liked her vehicle for telling the story, starting with the present and paralleling the past,through a diary, revealing it bit by bit. It reminded me a little of Certain Women by Madeleine L'Engle (one of my most favorite authors). The recipes at the end make Ida Mae and Janet all the more real. I was able to identify so closely with the friendship between these two women. I constantly found myself thinking of my dearest friend and the times we have shared. We are not able to see each other very often so, like the Ida Mae and Janet, it makes the time spent together so much more dear. I will be getting another copy for my mother-in-law. and of course, for my best friend. They will love it, too.
Rating:
Summary: A Smal Gem
Review: On any given day, at any library or book store, there is the chance you will come across a small gem of a book. You weren't really lookin for it, in fact it might not even be the kind of think you usually read -- but the book will hop off the shelf into your hand and whisper, "read me." Ginnie Bivona's book is that kind of book. The opening lines are an invitation to a soothing afternoon tea. Go ahead -- brew up a cup of your favorite tea and sit down for a wonderful read. When you're through, dry your eyes, wash the cup, then go buy this book for your best friend.
Rating:
Summary: Tea and Company
Review: The title of this book snagged me from the word go. There was something about the name "Tutweiler" and the thought of a "traveling tea party" that I found instantly appealing. If you delight in the ritual of tea time with all the trimmings (china cups, Earl Grey, and hot scones), then you must read this book. If you never had a proper cup of tea in your life, then you really must read this book, for the traveling tea party is indeed a moveable feast. Always in the background of the lives of Ida Mae and Jane, a "good hot cuppa" becomes the silent partner to the confessions, laughter, triumphs and failures that only best friends can understand. Seemingly polar opposites, Ida and Jane will remind you that there really is no rhyme or reason for friendship beyond the fact that you truly care about what happens to another person. So plonk yourself down into a cosy armchair and get ready for a great read and a good cry. When you're done, you can make tracks for the store, 'cause after you've read the recipes at the end, your mouth will probably be watering for one of those ham and asparagus roll-ups... to say nothing of "the deepest, darkest secret" of Ida Mae's life. Just remember to share it with your best friend.
Rating:
Summary: Tea and Company
Review: The title of this book snagged me from the word go. There was something about the name "Tutweiler" and the thought of a "traveling tea party" that I found instantly appealing. If you delight in the ritual of tea time with all the trimmings (china cups, Earl Grey, and hot scones), then you must read this book. If you never had a proper cup of tea in your life, then you really must read this book, for the traveling tea party is indeed a moveable feast. Always in the background of the lives of Ida Mae and Jane, a "good hot cuppa" becomes the silent partner to the confessions, laughter, triumphs and failures that only best friends can understand. Seemingly polar opposites, Ida and Jane will remind you that there really is no rhyme or reason for friendship beyond the fact that you truly care about what happens to another person. So plonk yourself down into a cosy armchair and get ready for a great read and a good cry. When you're done, you can make tracks for the store, 'cause after you've read the recipes at the end, your mouth will probably be watering for one of those ham and asparagus roll-ups... to say nothing of "the deepest, darkest secret" of Ida Mae's life. Just remember to share it with your best friend.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved writing this book.
Review: When I sat at the computer and wrote the first line of thisbook, about the comfort to be found in a nice hot cup of tea, I had noidea where the story would take me. I wrote what I knew from my own personal experiences, as a child in Ohio and later on as a mother and business owner in Texas. My Goodness, how far we all come! I think all of the feelings and pleasure and struggles all women share on our life path were there, just waiting to be spilled out onto the page. Ida Mae and Jane took on a life of their own and their story took its own form. I sometimes feel as though I was simply a conduit for wherever this came from. I hope every reader will find a thread of truth that resonates for them in the book....who has not shared some golden moments with a dear friend or friends? Who has not had some wonderful, joyful times with a lover? And then experienced the sad end of that love? Perhaps it was only a childhood fancy, but it stays, remembered to this day, in a secret place in your heart. Many of us have known that particular joy of motherhood. And it means everything to us. And, who among us, has not lost a beloved person to the raveges of cancer? That's life. But how we deal with all these events is what came clear in my book. I didn't plan it, I didn't plot it. But there it was, waiting for me. And now, dear reader, I hope you will share it with me. I feel as though I am reaching out to you from my desk, into your life, and although we will never know one another, we have a common thread that binds us as friends forever. Thank you for reading my book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. END
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