Sandra KringCritiques

Using a child narrator for a novel intended for adult readers is a tricky proposition, but Sandra Kring pulls it off with perfection in The Book of Bright Ideas.

Evelyn Peters (aka “Button”) is the heart of this tale of childhood friendship that grows with the intensity that only eight-going-on-nine can muster when an unconventional pair of siblings burst into their staid midwestern town like the fireworks on “Marty Graw”. Freeda Malone is a fiery redhead with the mouth of a sailor, the body of a temptress, and a perhaps too-healthy appetite for male company. Her baby sister Winnalee is an impatient bundle of energy, dubious fashion choices, and big ideas (which she writes down in the titular book). That the two girls should instantly become best of friends is almost inevitable, as Button’s imagination is nurtured by Winnalee’s flights of fancy, and Winnalee finds stability and loving acceptance from Button’s Aunt Verdella.

What’s perhaps less to be expected is that the free-spirited Freeda also opens doors for Verdella and for Button’s mother, Jewel – a process Button sees and describes, without fully understanding what’s at the base of it all. She knows only that, bit by bit, her world is getting just slightly bigger, though sometimes the grown-ups around her make choices she can’t really comprehend.

Kring keeps the point-of-view firmly with Button, even as events unfold in the adult world that will change everything in heartbreaking ways. Most readers will have winkled out the main revelation long before it’s made, but can still feel the pain the knowledge brings to everyone touched by it.

Definitely worth the read.½

I thought wthis book was going to be "one I just couldn't finish ". The fault was mine. I agree with all the other readers who loved this book.

"Maybe hearts are like toes in that you can't feel them stinging when they're frozen, only when they begin to thaw." It speaks to the gumption of young heroine, Bless Adler, that she found the courage to thaw at all, considering the lousy hand she'd been dealt in life. But Bless is nothing if not plucky, and I was taken with her from the get-go.

Kring shows off her storytelling skills in bringing Bless and all of the other characters to life. The action feels immediate and the teen romance is pitch-perfect. A thoroughly enjoyable, heartfelt read.

It took a little while to get into this book but so I was deep into the book again, visiting old friends. I hated to see the book end and I feel like I said good-bye to friends when I turned the last page and closed the book.

Some people come into your life like a thunderstorm. That is how I feel about this book. It is a thunderstorm filled with loud thunder, lots of lightening, and fierce wind. And that is how Freeda and Winnalee come into town. Somehow Verdella sees them for what they really are-vunurable and in need of love and care. The author swept me away and I arrived in Dauber in the whirlwind that was Freeda and Winnalee. Poor Winnalee is carrying an urn filled with her mother's ashes and rarely puts it down. It is her security blanket. The characters are so life like that I felt like I was leaving my friends when the book ended.

It appears that I must have read a different book from the current readers. Everyone else is raving about this book. Don't get me wrong as in the beginning I thought this story was really going to go somewhere. Yet, after only a few chapters, I had lost interest in what was transpiring in the pages of this book. None of the characters jumped out at me and made me crave for their story. Yet I did keep reading as I thought I would find that "some" again. After just going through the motions until the half way point I was done. I did skip ahead to the last three chapters to see how the story would end. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

A tiny bit superficial or cliched, but much less so than, say, [b:Because of Winn-Dixie|6308478|Because of Winn-Dixie|Kate DiCamillo|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275753644s/6308478.jpg|25169]. Touching, fun, a bit provocative. I want more by her, and more like this.

Fantastic. I'm certainly impressed by this author. The pov of the young man with brain damage is minor compared to what he sees, and what he learns. He's not 'slow' despite what people think, but limited in just some cognitive abilities. What happens in his community is tragic, funny, frightening, joyous..., and well worth your time to read about.

Oh good lord. Kring, why did you do this to me, after I enjoyed your other books? What an ugly, messy, preachy, cliche'-ridden melodrama this was! Even if I could somehow accept the idea that we need to forgive those who have abused us in order to make peace in our own lives, I couldn't have been brought to that understanding by this soap opera.

To make sure you understand, I'm not talking about a few slaps or harsh words. I'm talking about full-on beatings. In front of the children. For their entire childhood. Imo, the only sane character is the brother, who went off to make his own way, severing ties with this awful family.

Obectively, probably only worth 2.5 stars. Pretty heavy-handed, and unrealistic. But I am a sucker for Kring's adorable characters and the melodramatic plots and the happily-ever-after everyone-learned-their-lessons endings. All that being said, don't start with this one if you've never read Kring. Try [b:Carry Me Home: A Novel|214241|Carry Me Home A Novel|Sandra Kring|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172766308s/214241.jpg|966777].

We read this in my book club. I might have picked it up in a book store; the premise was interesting enough. But within the first few pages, I was having major problems with the book. The set up to get Lucy, Milo and Tess off to live with Sam was an easy out. Likewise, I felt like making the twins so smart was the only way the story would work so that's why Ms. Kring chose to do that. I found the journals as an easy out as well--Tess just happens to be writing about the exact information Lucy wants just when Lucy happens to be able to access it? But overall, I liked the characters, found the small town feel to be very realistic and was happy that the ending wasn't "and they all lived happily ever after."

We read this in my book club. I might have picked it up in a book store; the premise was interesting enough. But within the first few pages, I was having major problems with the book. The set up to get Lucy, Milo and Tess off to live with Sam was an easy out. Likewise, I felt like making the twins so smart was the only way the story would work so that's why Ms. Kring chose to do that. I found the journals as an easy out as well--Tess just happens to be writing about the exact information Lucy wants just when Lucy happens to be able to access it? But overall, I liked the characters, found the small town feel to be very realistic and was happy that the ending wasn't "and they all lived happily ever after."

This story told in a child's voice touched the wonder and belief in my own heart. The interaction of the well-developed characters and their impact on each other brought me right into their world. I found the book easy to read, but very thought-provoking.

Very entertaining. Loved the ending.

After reading Finn, Middlesex, and The Tipping Point in a six month period, my book club was ready for something lighter, and this book definitely fit the people. There's a lot of humor in this book about how free-spirited Winnie and Freeda Malone change the lives of an extended family living in a small town. This book is well-written and does deal with some adult subjects, but is still a lot of fun.

A well written continuation of the Book of Bright Ideas story regarding a small town in WI. If you loved the first book you will not want to miss reading how the lives of Button and Winnalee progressed and changed over a 9 year period. I ususally am skeptic of sequels in books or movies but this one was as entertaining as the original story. Well done.

A very enjoyable novel with a heartwarming friendship in the two main characters, nine year old Button and her new best friend Winnalee. The story takes place in a small town in 1961 WI as these two little girls spend every moment of the summer together learning about each other and the adults around them. All of the characters are finely drawn and each has their own realistic concerns, dreams and past secrets to share or hide from each other. Throw in a plot twisting mystery which will effect each of the characters and the novel adds some intrigue not only for the nine year olds but sadness for the adults. It is a very good story of friendship, family and the bonds that hold all of us together at specific times in our lives. A good read.

A Life of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring is the continuing story of the friendship between quiet, responsibile, anxious Evey (Button) and whimsical, unconventional, outspoken, bohemian, Winnalee. After a nine-year absence, Winnalee returns. She is all grown up, seemingly independent, care-free and fun-loving. She is still childlike in many ways which contrasts to her best friend Evey who has grown up too fast and continues to suffer from the death of her mother 4 years prior. Where Winnalee appears brave and strong, Button is scared of life and the heartbreaks that she has come to expect. Winnalee is promiscuous, smokes marijuana, dances with abandon for tips. Evey holds in her emotions which physically manifests itself. She has a solitary job working from home embellishing bridal gowns and dresses. Evey longs to speak up. She wants more, but she is fearful to disappoint. Winalee is Evey's mouth-piece and Evey is the voice of reason for Winalee. Their love for one another is undeniable.

I loved that each chapter starts off with one of the "bright ideas" Winnalee and Evey wrote down in their Big Book of Bright Ideas when they were children (in order to stop making the same mistakes over and over again).

I was so glad to catch up with Aunt Verdella, Uncle Rudy, Tommy, Reece, and Freeda from the Book Of Bright Ideas. Evey's litte brother, BooHoo, is a loveable, energetic, mischievous, good-natured six year old. He is adored by his family and frustrates them as well because of his behavior and wild ways.

I don't want to spoil the story. Just know that the girls are growing up, and the world is changing. All the characters are trying to adapt and fit into the ever-changing times. One thing that has not changed is the love these characters have for one another.

There is no real explanation as to why Winnalee and Evey have not seen or spoken to one another in all of this time. I would have liked one. In the beginning you could understand the absence, but once the girls were older and could drive and call on their own, it just didn't make sense.

It is true that the author does not leave any loose ends when finishing the story. Although I could see where this would irritate some readers, I was not one of them. I appreciated knowing definitively what happened to these characters. I so enjoyed these two stories and was sorry when they ended.

Sandra Kring is one of my favorite authors, and every story that she writes I fall in love with. Carry Me Home was no exception. It is a heart-felt story about Earl "Earwig" Gunderman, who suffered from a severe fever as a child causing him to become "simpleminded". This character is incredibly special; we all should be lucky enough to know someone "simple-minded" like Earwig.

Earl is loved and protected by his parents, brother, friends and the townspeople, as a whole, and in return, he loves and protects them just as fiercely. Earwig's relationship with his brother, Jimmy, takes your breath away, and it is this relationship that is at the core of the novel. Jimmy who always took care of and included Earwig, now is the one requiring the nurturing after returning from World War II damaged and scarred from all that he has lived through.

Secondary characters such as Eileen and Hank Gunderman, Eddie, Eva Leigh, Ruby Leigh, Floyd, John, Louie and even the Pritchards add to this charming story.

Earwig's kindness, his simple truths about living life and treating others (which he learned much of from his father) and his exquisite honesty was just so beautiful. There is no better way to describe it.

There were many hardships in this story, and yet it was incredibly uplifting.

I highly recommend reading this book. Also read by Sandra Kring, How High the Moon, The Book of Bright Ideas and A Life of Bright Ideas. All were excellent.

What a wonderfully crafted story by Sandra Kring. The story of Earwig, an allegedly simple minded young man. However, he may be the most insightful, realistic person in the whole story. He experiences challenges and accomplishments during the story that make the reader at times want to cry and other times laugh. It is a wonderfully written story and I highly recommend it.½

I can't say enough about Sandra Kring's How High the Moon. I loved it from beginning to end. The characters were so endearing, and the story was very engaging. I was sorry when the book ended.

Other exceptional books: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, Garden Spells and The Girl Who Chased the Moon both by Sarah Addison Allen.

Sandra Kring is an excellent author. She has such a way with words that the reader is just waiting for the next page throughout the entire book. HOW HIGH THE MOON is the story of Isabella "Teaspoon" Marlene, a precocious little girl and the challenges she faces growing up without a mother or father. Her mother has chosen to ignore her responsibility to her child and the little girl is left with a man who loves Teaspoon dearly, but is in no way equipped to be a father. He does his best and by the end of the story has legal custody of Teaspoon. This story will tug at the reader's heart and bring tears at times and giggles at others. I highly recommend this book and any books by Sandra Kring.½

Lucy McGowan is 12, hopes to be a psychologist when she grows up, but struggles to understand her math obsessed twin brother and her secretive mother. When Lucy's grandmother summons them to help her care for Lucy's dying grandfather, she is excited about discovering more about her family--especially the big secret of who fathered her. There is a lot of serious stuff going on here, but also moments that are quite amusing as Lucy the snoop gets herself involved with some quite interesting characters--such as a former lady of the night who seems to know all the town's secrets.
I enjoyed entering into Lucy's mind and world, and it was interesting how we also got to hear from her mother via her journal entries. Her grandmother, Milo, and her mother's boyfriend also emerge as engaging characters through her observations. Our book discussion group had quite a good time analyzing the reasons behind their behavior. If a book full of family drama with quirky characters and a touch of humor appeals to you, give this one a read!!½

I love Sandra Kring books! This book brings home the realities of life during WWII. It's the kind of book that you never want to end and you feel sad when it's over.

Sandra Kring has an incredible way of telling a story through a child's eyes. At times there are passages that make the reader laugh and then there are passages that make the reader very sad. This is a story of a child trying to find her roots and learn about her immediate family. I highly recommend this book.