Genealogy Books - Twenty Wishes (Blossom Street, No. 4)

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Customer Rating:

Summary: ...although I *did* cry...
Comment: One of *my* twenty wishes would be to interview all of the people who bought copies of this book,
making it a NYTimes Bestseller. I'd really love to know 1) Why they bought it, 2) What they really
thought of it after reading it, and 3) What other fiction they read. As a writer, I'm utterly
fascinated at how there can be such a chasm between this, and say, a 'literary fiction' award
winner. As I was reading it...strictly for research purposes...I was shaking my head in wonder.
Because this is exactly the sort of writing that all writing instructors teach people NOT to
produce. In fact, it could be the basis of a great course: 'How Not to Write'.

Facile.

Predictable.
Ham-fisted.
Without grace.

Don't get me wrong: the
underlying themes here are valid. But Macomber writes like an earnest high schooler, explaining
everything, telegraphing everything, so clearly wanting to tell a particular story and announcing to
the reader exactly what that story is all along...

Let's put it this way: if this had
been a movie, everyone would have walked out. Everywhere. It would make a 'Hallmark'
movie-of-the-week seem like high-art.

But yes, I did cry. I'm a romantic at heart, so
there were passages that triggered emotional reactions in me. However, those reactions were not due
to any craft, any dexterity, any deftness of touch on the author's part. She could have been
executing stick-people cartoons and I might have cried.

I'm happy that so many people
got so much out of this novel. A further wish of mine would be to read this as it might have been
done by a writer of greater abilities. Even Nicholas Sparks would have taken it to a better place,
offering up nuance, subtlety, a chance for the reader to actively participate in the process,
instead of being so utterly spoon-fed, with Pablum all over their clothes in the end.
/>I'm glad there's a market for Macomber's work. Every writer deserves an audience. Clearly, she's
found hers. Another wish granted.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Twenty Wishes
Comment: Wonderful Book...If you are not a fan of Debbie Macomber you will be after reading this book...I
would however, recommend you start from the beginning by reading The Shop on Blossom Street first
and continue through the Blossom Street series until you get to Twenty Wishes...they are all great
books.

Customer Rating:

Summary: I just loved this book
Comment: I just loved this book. I couldn't put it down from the moment I started to read it. I just loved
the 20 wishes and could wait to find out what happend to all of the women. It makes me want to write
my own list. Blossom St sound like a wonderful place to live, I would move there in a minute if it
exsited. It made me feel your never to old for a new beginning.
I recommend this book to any
one who needs a reason to feel good.

Customer Rating:

Summary: I want to live on Blossom Street!
Comment: This is my first review so please bear with me! I am a new Debbie Macomber fan and have just
recently gotten into her Blossom Street books! They take me back to a time where everyone knew
everyone in your neighborhood, kids could play outside and not be hurt, and the little shopping area
in your town.

"Twenty Wishes" is the 4th installment of the series and she is
doing great keeping up with all the characters. Usually in series books they don't keep up with
other characters when they try to concentrate on one.

The list idea reminds me of
"The Bucket List"-and it has inspired me to create my own.

I highly recommend this
book-especially if you want to find out what is going on in Lillie and Barbie's lives at the moment.
A good and quick read.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Can A Light-Hearted Summer Read Change Your Life?
Comment: Debbie Macomber doesn't write heavy Russian novels with tragic heroines and deep, multi-layered
plots. She writes novels that appeal to millions of ordinary women. So why do I think this simply
delightful book could change your life? It's because she compels you to do one tiny little
thing---make a list of twenty things you want to do in life. She invites you to celebrate hope, to
fill that nagging void in your life, and to tell your brain the secrets of your heart.
/>Anne Marie Roche, the widowed owner of Blossom Street Books, invites three other widows to
celebrate with her what could have been a sad Valentine's Day for all four. At thirty-eight, Anne
Marie still longs for the child she never had. Her husband Robert already had a family when she
married him and he had no desire to start another and be mistaken for his child's grandfather. />
The other widows are Barbie Foster, forty-something mother of twin boys, who lost both her
husband and father in the same fatal plane crash; her mother, Lillie Higgins, a sixtyish society
matron; and Elise Beaumont, a retired librarian who'd reconnected with her husband after thirty
years apart, only to lose him again after three.

While Lillie and Barbie set about
accomplishing their lists with gusto, Anne Marie moves a bit slower and needs the guiding hand of
Elise to steer her on a quest to find one good thing about her life. A Lunch Buddy program at the
local school leads her to Ellen, a shy eight-year-old, and to a surprisingly rewarding life that
includes knitting, dancing in the rain, and the trip to Paris she has always wanted to take. Anne
Marie's life fills with happiness and love, not in the way she imagined it would, but in a way that
will leave the reader deeply satisfied. (You'll probably also fall in love with Baxter, her
tail-wagging Yorkshire terrier pictured on the cover and charming from beginning to end).
/>What these four women learn about love and life, but mostly about themselves, will have you
turning the pages and cheering for them. Most of all, it will set your brain spinning about the
things you want to accomplish in your own life. Don't be surprised to find that by the time you
finish the book you'll have your own list of twenty wishes.

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