jenleah's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
This story sucked me right in. The plot was engrossing, the characters well developed.
I didn't realize this book centered around the disappearance of a boy. Normally I wouldn't read a book with that as a main plot point--I can't handle bad things happening to children! Glad I still gave this one a chance, it was a great, satisfying read despite the sad circumstances.
This story sucked me right in. The plot was engrossing, the characters well developed.
I didn't realize this book centered around the disappearance of a boy. Normally I wouldn't read a book with that as a main plot point--I can't handle bad things happening to children! Glad I still gave this one a chance, it was a great, satisfying read despite the sad circumstances.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).
"In 1956, when divorced working-mom Ava Lark rents a house with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a Boston suburb, the neighborhood is less than welcoming. Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes missing. The neighborhood - in the era of the Cold War, bomb scares, and paranoia - seizes the opportunity to further ostracize Ava and her son.
Lewis never recovers from the disappearance of his childhood friend. By the time he reaches his twenties, he's living a directionless life, a failure in love, estranged from his mother. Rose is now a schoolteacher in another city, watching over children as she was never able to watch over her own brother. Ava is building a new life for herself in a new decade. When the mystery of Jimmy's disappearance is unexpectedly solved, all three must try to reclaim what they have lost." (From Amazon)
Overall, I liked this novel but it was just okay. I would like to read another novel by this aut
"In 1956, when divorced working-mom Ava Lark rents a house with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a Boston suburb, the neighborhood is less than welcoming. Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes missing. The neighborhood - in the era of the Cold War, bomb scares, and paranoia - seizes the opportunity to further ostracize Ava and her son.
Lewis never recovers from the disappearance of his childhood friend. By the time he reaches his twenties, he's living a directionless life, a failure in love, estranged from his mother. Rose is now a schoolteacher in another city, watching over children as she was never able to watch over her own brother. Ava is building a new life for herself in a new decade. When the mystery of Jimmy's disappearance is unexpectedly solved, all three must try to reclaim what they have lost." (From Amazon)
Overall, I liked this novel but it was just okay. I would like to read another novel by this author.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).
"In 1956, when divorced working-mom Ava Lark rents a house with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a Boston suburb, the neighborhood is less than welcoming. Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes missing. The neighborhood - in the era of the Cold War, bomb scares, and paranoia - seizes the opportunity to further ostracize Ava and her son.
Lewis never recovers from the disappearance of his childhood friend. By the time he reaches his twenties, he's living a directionless life, a failure in love, estranged from his mother. Rose is now a schoolteacher in another city, watching over children as she was never able to watch over her own brother. Ava is building a new life for herself in a new decade. When the mystery of Jimmy's disappearance is unexpectedly solved, all three must try to reclaim what they have lost." (From Amazon)
Overall, I liked this novel but it was just okay. I would like to read another novel by this aut
"In 1956, when divorced working-mom Ava Lark rents a house with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a Boston suburb, the neighborhood is less than welcoming. Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes missing. The neighborhood - in the era of the Cold War, bomb scares, and paranoia - seizes the opportunity to further ostracize Ava and her son.
Lewis never recovers from the disappearance of his childhood friend. By the time he reaches his twenties, he's living a directionless life, a failure in love, estranged from his mother. Rose is now a schoolteacher in another city, watching over children as she was never able to watch over her own brother. Ava is building a new life for herself in a new decade. When the mystery of Jimmy's disappearance is unexpectedly solved, all three must try to reclaim what they have lost." (From Amazon)
Overall, I liked this novel but it was just okay. I would like to read another novel by this author.
danchrist's review against another edition
2.0
Flat characters. Flat prose. Flat story.
Could not get into it, so I set it aside.
Could not get into it, so I set it aside.
leleroulant's review against another edition
3.0
I received this as an Adveanced Reading Copy from LibraryThing.com. It is an engaging story of 1950's suburban Boston. Ava, a Jewish divorced mother and her thirteen year-old son, Lewis move in to a quiet neighborhood and automatically suspect of everything because of her status. When Lewis's best friend Jimmy goes missing.
The story is not so much about Jimmy, as it is how Lewis, Ava and Jimmy's family (mother Dot and sister Rose) deal with his disappearence. Good characterizations and interestng story.
The story is not so much about Jimmy, as it is how Lewis, Ava and Jimmy's family (mother Dot and sister Rose) deal with his disappearence. Good characterizations and interestng story.
thuglibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
s This Tomorrow" is the kind of book that readers will most certainly choose for book clubs. Leavitt writes in such a way that readers will find it hard to put down. Ava, a single mother in the 1950's and who happens to be Jewish, moves into a middle class neighborhood and is treated like an outsider. And she is, but she either lacks the insight as to why or maybe she assumes things...the reader never really knows. How divorced women were treated during this time period will be an eye opener for today's young female reader. Add the suspense of the mysterious disappearance of one of the young boys and you have the making of a great read and one that will be hard to put down until the last page.
jdthunter's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, although it was quite dark at the beginning. The characters were well drawn and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. The end was a bit disappointing as I felt like the writing became perfunctory in an attempt to quickly explain what happened. Some parts of the explanations were unlikely occurrences and the enlightenment of one of the main characters was not quite believable given the set of circumstances presented.
frizzella's review
5.0
Sooo captivating. I found myself reading for hours, forcing myself to take a break, and failing miserably because I just couldn't stop reading. The characters and plot were beautifully developed. This is a very emotional story, and I actually felt real, honest-to-goodness sympathy and compassion towards the people portrayed in this novel (that doesn't happen very often!). This book starts out like a usual novel, but slowly unravels into a bit of a mystery. Loved that aspect of the book. Will definitely read more of the author's books. Really amazing read.
perry417's review
4.0
Great development of all of the characters, from the divorced mom in the 1950s who is shunned and judged by neighbors and co-workers, to her son and his friends and their typical teen awkwardness and questioning and angst. A very readable, page-turner type of book that really led me on quite the emotional ride.
ciska's review against another edition
3.0
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Caroline Leavitt is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Award in Fiction, and a Goldenberg Fiction Prize. She was also a National Magazine Award Nominee in Personal Essay, a finalist in the Nickelodeon Screenwriting Awards and a quarter finalist in the Fade In/Writers' Net screen play competition. A book critic for The Boston Globe, and People, she has also published in New York Magazine, Psychology Today, More, Cookie, Redbook, Parenting, and more.
Caroline has been a judge in both the Writers' Voice Fiction Awards in New York City and the Midatlantic Arts Grants in Fiction. She teaches novel writing online at both Stanford University and UCLA Extension Writers Program, as well as working with writers privately
She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, New York City's unofficial sixth borough, with her husband, the writer Jeff Tamarkin, and their teenage son Max.
Review
There are two main lines in this book and I have asked myself a few times while reading if it was not to much. There is the divorced Ava with her you teenage son in 1956. This was not a period people got divorced and if you were a pariah. This part of the book is done so well. For most of her life Ava just wants a normal life. Being left behind by her husband all she wants is the best for herself and Lewis. It is clear though that the situation influences both her and Lewis choices a lot. What I did not understand was the way she dressed. Often it was made clear she dressed very modern, to modern for the suburb she was living in obviously. I would expect in her situation she would have tried her best more to fit in. I had some trouble getting my head around that.
The other situation is the disappearance of Jimmy though it seems to be a small part of the whole story as in it happens they search and everybody is going on with his life the impact of it lingers trough the whole book. This is done very well. You can feel the tension, the what if's are everywhere and making me as a reader wonder too. Not only about where Jimmy is, but what will happen to Lewis and Rose. Will Lewis ever know the truth about his father and understand what happened between his parents.
In the end I have to say that both story lines were able to both live and get enough attention. The only thing that still bothers me is the visit Ava gets at the end of the book of a person. I still do not understand why this person showed up and what happened in there and what the use was to the story. I would have been perfectly satisfied I guess if that never happened.
Author
Caroline Leavitt is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Award in Fiction, and a Goldenberg Fiction Prize. She was also a National Magazine Award Nominee in Personal Essay, a finalist in the Nickelodeon Screenwriting Awards and a quarter finalist in the Fade In/Writers' Net screen play competition. A book critic for The Boston Globe, and People, she has also published in New York Magazine, Psychology Today, More, Cookie, Redbook, Parenting, and more.
Caroline has been a judge in both the Writers' Voice Fiction Awards in New York City and the Midatlantic Arts Grants in Fiction. She teaches novel writing online at both Stanford University and UCLA Extension Writers Program, as well as working with writers privately
She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, New York City's unofficial sixth borough, with her husband, the writer Jeff Tamarkin, and their teenage son Max.
Review
There are two main lines in this book and I have asked myself a few times while reading if it was not to much. There is the divorced Ava with her you teenage son in 1956. This was not a period people got divorced and if you were a pariah. This part of the book is done so well. For most of her life Ava just wants a normal life. Being left behind by her husband all she wants is the best for herself and Lewis. It is clear though that the situation influences both her and Lewis choices a lot. What I did not understand was the way she dressed. Often it was made clear she dressed very modern, to modern for the suburb she was living in obviously. I would expect in her situation she would have tried her best more to fit in. I had some trouble getting my head around that.
The other situation is the disappearance of Jimmy though it seems to be a small part of the whole story as in it happens they search and everybody is going on with his life the impact of it lingers trough the whole book. This is done very well. You can feel the tension, the what if's are everywhere and making me as a reader wonder too. Not only about where Jimmy is, but what will happen to Lewis and Rose. Will Lewis ever know the truth about his father and understand what happened between his parents.
In the end I have to say that both story lines were able to both live and get enough attention. The only thing that still bothers me is the visit Ava gets at the end of the book of a person. I still do not understand why this person showed up and what happened in there and what the use was to the story. I would have been perfectly satisfied I guess if that never happened.
thereadingknitter's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book good enough but I would have liked it better had it ended better.