Family Album [Paperback]

Patricia Kay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2002

Hannah Ferris thinks she must be the luckiest woman in Los Angeles-until a young man unexpectedly walks into her life and threatens to expose the secret she has kept hidden from her family for decades.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425186326
• ISBN-13: 978-0425186329
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,054,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia Kay is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 50 novels of romance and women's fiction. Her December, 2000 novel, THE WRONG CHILD, was nominated for a RITA award, which is the most prestigious award given to romance/women's fiction writers by the Romance Writers of America. An acclaimed teacher who taught writing classes at the University of Houston, she now teaches exclusively online. Born in Ohio, she and her husband have lived in Houston, Texas since 1969. To find out more about her, her books, and her writing classes, visit her website at www.patriciakay.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story but..., November 11, 2002

By 

K. Morgan (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Album (Paperback)

Family Album is the story of Hannah Farris who leads the perfect California life. Wealthy, adoring husband, perfect daughter. But one thing haunts her. Twenty years ago, on her very birthday, she gave birth to a baby boy and gave him up for adoption. She has never told her husband and daughter that she had a baby before moving to California. However, she is about to face the past. And his name is David.

The basis of the book was very good. The story was one I was very interested in reading. I just couldn't seem to get completely interested in this book. It seemed to be too choppy and not flow from one scene to the next. The characters didn't seem to be fully developed either. Hannah and Simon are supposed to have the perfect marriage but on paper it just doesn't come across that way. They seem more like strangers than husband and wife. The best interaction between characters is Jenny and her Grandmother Ferris. Aunt Marcy also seems to be a likable and genuine character. The story of Hannah and Mark was wonderful to read.

I wanted to like this book so much. I wanted it to be a page turner that I just couldn't put down. I was quite disappointed that this book fell short of my expectations. Half the book is setting up the meeting between Hannah and her son. And then at the end the book just ends abruptly. It's as if the author ran out of words. I was left wanting more closure when I finished this book. This was my first Kay book and sorry I just wasn't impressed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, September 24, 2002

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Album (Paperback)

At the age of seventeen, Hannah gives birth to an illegitimate son on her birthday. Because of her age and unwed status, she gives up her son, hoping that he will find the happy home she never really knew.

Twenty years pass, and Hannah has achieved a wonderful life with a loving husband and a daughter of whom she is proud and loves dearly. Yet all of this might be shasttered when a young man enters their lives. At first, David Conway comes asking for a job, then he saves Jenny, Hannah's daughter, from drowning, and Simon, her husband gives him an even better job. .However, when Hannah gets a close look at David, she knows the truth, her son has come looking for her.

When she faces David, Hannah tells him her heartbreaking story and who his father is. Though he seems to understand what happened and much of the boy's resentment fades after hearing her side, he still disappears shortlly thereafter. Determined to not fail her oldest child again, Hannah goes in search of David, risking her family, and forced once more to face her past and her first love.

Heart rending and touching, this novel touches your soul,. Seeing the story from both sides, you feel the sorrow of each character and the hurt one moment can cause. The cast is easy to relate to and understand, each member being realistic as they try to handle what can at best be described as an awkward, difficult situation. Ms Kay never fails to deliever this kind of story, and through seeing the scars of the characters, perhaps the reader will find healing for their own. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets and Love, September 30, 2002

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Album (Paperback)

The comparison to LaVyrle Spencer is valid. Secrets and family relationships are the heart of this story.

Hannah is living a privileged life. She is wealthy, is adored by her husband and has a wonderful relationship with her teenage daughter. But she also has a big secret. On her 17th birthday, she gave birth to a baby boy. She only held him once before she had to give him up.

And now 20 years later, her world is going to come crashing down around her when her son shows up at her door.....

The people draw you in and you keep reading hoping for a happy ending.

An author to watch for.