Back Roads - Tawni O'Dell

On Tuesday lunchtime I was late back to work and the boss wasn’t happy. Wednesday evening, I missed my stop on the train and eventually found myself 20 miles from home in a town I’d never been to before. And tonight, I’ll probably be awake long after I should be writing this, and I’ll go through work tomorrow feeling like…well, not very good. And who do I blame for all this? Trevor15! That’s right, it’s all Trevor’s fault. Why? I’ll tell you… This is what happened. On Tuesday morning, I wanted to drop my suit off at the dry cleaners on my way to the station. In remembering to pick it up on my ...  Read the complete review

Two years in the life of Harley Altmyer. What an astounding book. What a fantastic first novel by Tawni O'Dell. After Harley's mother prematurely ended her husband's life with a bullet, she paid the price in prison. Harley paid the price at home. Just eighteen, he became the sole carer for his three younger sisters: Amber, Misty and Jody. Always awkward and fragile, Harley had trouble coping. How was an American teenager to cope with such parental responsibility at such a young age? Amber helped out but she was exorcising her own demons in the back of vans with any male who would show her some caring. Even bruises left a tangible mark ...  Read the complete review

There's only so much propaganda a man can take before he falls for it. Or something of the sort, anyway (it sounded smarter before I wrote it down, somehow...). So after reading Trevor15's elevation to sainthood of this book, BACK ROADS by Tawni O'Dell, and then his recommendations in his profile page that we should do a favour to ourselves and read it, and then his stunning review in his (equally stunning) website, Book Realm Reviews, I just had to read it. For a change, a book that I had high hopes for did not disappoint. BACK ROADS is all that it has been made out to be, and more. If anything, the blurbs on the cover (and Oprah's seal of ...  Read the complete review

This is the first novel or Tawni O?Dell and what a start into the literary world it is. This story is powerful, enjoyable and thought provoking. The Chicago Tribune describes it as ?an intense story of family, frailty and disfunction, captivatingly told? and I would agree with their observation. This is a stunning first novel that cannot fail to intrigue, grip and fascinate. The story involves the Altmyer family. Harley is 19 years old and is forced to act as the head of the household and legal guardian to his three younger sisters, Amber, Misty and Jody. The reason for this is that his mother is in prison, where she has been for the past two years, serving ...  Read the complete review

I truly love to read but in the last few years I have had little time to do so. Having a little one definitely means reading time is shortened! Generally it takes me 3 or 4 months to read an average length novel. However the other day I started a book I just couldn?t put down. We had food delivered in so I didn?t have to cook, I spent less time on my computer and got my husband to do all the chores. I could not get my head out of this book! Which is all the stranger when you think that this book was not my usual read. I am a Sci-fi fantasy girl and this is neither of those. I got the book on recommendation from another dooyoo member. I reckoned if a book ...  Read the complete review