biblioph1le's review against another edition
4.0
As I read this book I kept thinking what a blessed life I have. While this is fiction, the sadness and the dysfunctional families is all too real for many. I think the subject was dealt with well. I would recommend this book
mil818's review against another edition
4.0
Great book, especially liked that the author shed light on Dwight's condition, the hit and run driver, kind of contradicting the popular emotionally driven view that these people are heartless monsters.
thereadingbel's review
4.0
This story is about loss of a child and how it devastates a family afterwards. If you have ever experienced a loss then you will understand fully the emotional reaction and impacts this does to an individual and family. The story unfold after Josh is killed. Each chapter is told by a different perspective the parents and Dwight the driver who hit the boy. The police are not solving this fast enough and frustrations are running high. This story pulls at your heart in every direction in the way each person grieves and deals with the loss of a child. I know first hand what it is like when a family member died in a car accident. The pain can be deep and for parents it is emotional the guilt they feel for not protecting enough from stopping it from happening. In the end it does not matter if it is time to leave this earth it just happens. I know from personal experience the spot where my sister died makes me nervous every time i have passed it. i slow down and take the curve slowly. The memory flows back through me that day it happened and it has been 35 years ago and it still impacts me personally. So this story really hit home for me I understand the emotional feelings the parents feel. It is so damaging to families when children are lost before they have time to live a full life. I recommend this book it pulls you in and the chapters comes together giving the perspective to understand each side of this story. Mr. Schwartz did a good job with characters bringing life to them in the deepest depth of their grief.
jlanganke's review against another edition
5.0
You know you've read a great book when you can't wait to get to the end to see what happens, but, at the same time you don't want the book to end because you'll miss it. Reservation Road is one of those books.
thereadingbel's review against another edition
4.0
This story is about loss of a child and how it devastates a family afterwards. If you have ever experienced a loss then you will understand fully the emotional reaction and impacts this does to an individual and family. The story unfold after Josh is killed. Each chapter is told by a different perspective the parents and Dwight the driver who hit the boy. The police are not solving this fast enough and frustrations are running high. This story pulls at your heart in every direction in the way each person grieves and deals with the loss of a child. I know first hand what it is like when a family member died in a car accident. The pain can be deep and for parents it is emotional the guilt they feel for not protecting enough from stopping it from happening. In the end it does not matter if it is time to leave this earth it just happens. I know from personal experience the spot where my sister died makes me nervous every time i have passed it. i slow down and take the curve slowly. The memory flows back through me that day it happened and it has been 35 years ago and it still impacts me personally. So this story really hit home for me I understand the emotional feelings the parents feel. It is so damaging to families when children are lost before they have time to live a full life. I recommend this book it pulls you in and the chapters comes together giving the perspective to understand each side of this story. Mr. Schwartz did a good job with characters bringing life to them in the deepest depth of their grief.
clockless's review against another edition
2.0
Not a badly written book (though possibly overwritten), but it's unrelentingly bleak. The children, I think, are poorly drawn -- in that particular unrealistic way that parents are apt to see children. It's hard to blame the adults for being moody and annoying, given the tragedy that has affected them, so I won't point that out.
You should read this if you are desperate to feel heaping quantities of vicarious angst, and avoid it otherwise.
You should read this if you are desperate to feel heaping quantities of vicarious angst, and avoid it otherwise.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
I did a quick re-read of this book in anticipation of the sequel, Northwest Corner. My memory of my overall impressions of the story holds up in the second reading. Some great strengths and a couple of weaker aspects that do diminish the power of the book as a whole. If I focus on the things Schwartz got right, it's a four-star book. If I focus on the things he did wrong, it's three stars. I'm going with the higher rating because I do think the book is worth reading, especially if you're interested in the way grief and guilt affect behavior and thought processes over time. There are a few too many coincidences, and the ending should have been much stronger, but I won't elaborate on the complaints.
There are three alternating viewpoints:
1)Ethan Learner: The father of 10-year-old Josh, who was killed in a hit-and-run on Reservation Road. He fixates on finding the driver who killed his son and exacting some sort of revenge. Ethan loses himself in reading as an escape from the pain and feelings of powerlessness.
2)Grace Learner: Josh's mother. She slips into despair and inaction and completely lets herself go, pulling away from her husband and friends and forgetting to care for her 8-year-old daughter Emma. Her love for her husband and daughter does eventually bring her around to pick up the shattered pieces of her life and go forward.
3)Dwight Arno: The man who hit Josh and didn't stop. He has so far gotten away with it, but the fear and guilt eat away at him. He slips into alcohol abuse and the violence he learned from his own father. His relationship with his 10-year-old son Sam has always been tenuous, and with the added stress of Dwight's secret, that situation becomes even more strained.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, because the end of this one does sort of leave you hanging, although I can see the subtle statement Schwartz was aiming for.
Second reading completed May 30, 2011.
There are three alternating viewpoints:
1)Ethan Learner: The father of 10-year-old Josh, who was killed in a hit-and-run on Reservation Road. He fixates on finding the driver who killed his son and exacting some sort of revenge. Ethan loses himself in reading as an escape from the pain and feelings of powerlessness.
2)Grace Learner: Josh's mother. She slips into despair and inaction and completely lets herself go, pulling away from her husband and friends and forgetting to care for her 8-year-old daughter Emma. Her love for her husband and daughter does eventually bring her around to pick up the shattered pieces of her life and go forward.
3)Dwight Arno: The man who hit Josh and didn't stop. He has so far gotten away with it, but the fear and guilt eat away at him. He slips into alcohol abuse and the violence he learned from his own father. His relationship with his 10-year-old son Sam has always been tenuous, and with the added stress of Dwight's secret, that situation becomes even more strained.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, because the end of this one does sort of leave you hanging, although I can see the subtle statement Schwartz was aiming for.
Second reading completed May 30, 2011.
howifeelaboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I had already watched the movie version and loved the story concept, but not the actors and their portrayals. I read that the book was better, so I wanted to give it a try. It’s so much better! Some of the language was absolutely beautiful, and the characters are more developed which really elevates the story.
erikashmerika's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0