Customer Reviews

No Time to Wave Goodbye (Platinum Readers Circle (Center Point))

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Terrible book, just terrible. And I loved "Deep End of the Ocean".

Mitchard has an enormous cast of characters, all of whom are razon-thin in their character development. You'll be lost if you haven't read "Deep End", as the returning cast is introduced with the sketchiest of background. Then again, you'll be lost if you HAVE read "Deep End", as all the new characters are thrown at the reader fast and furiously and in the most superficial manner possible.

There are several confusing scenes in the book, made more confusing by the "Beth and Pat and Candy and Ben and Charley Seven did this....Vincent and Sam and Eliza and George did that" writing. The pre-Oscar hotel scenes and celebrity spotting - waste of time and paper. The actual kidnapping? Also poorly sequenced and explained. The ridiculous search into the mountains for a villain with a muddled motive and Vincent's idiotic leaving shelter (to do what? and why?) are the stuff of slapped-together made-for-TV movies. It wasn't even suspenseful, since I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters. What if the kidnapped child disappears forever? Ho-hum. What if Ben falls into a crevasse? Yawn, too bad, so sad.

"Deep End" was beautifully written and well paced. "No Time" felt slapped together, poorly plotted and added nothing at all to the Cappadora story. Bad, bad book.

Jacquelyn Mitchard's latest, "No Time to Wave Good-bye," is a work nearly thirteen years in the making, much to the chagrin of her anxious fans. Needless to say, any reader will be mesmerized from the start, transfixed by a combination of well developed characters, an established story line, and truly beautiful prose.

The sequel to "The Deep End of the Ocean" invites readers back into the lives of the Cappadora family, who have all grown considerably since the last time they entered our heads and our hearts, and have all dealt with the kidnapping and subsequent return of Ben in their own ways, for better or worse. These characters truly feel like old friends to anyone who has read the preceding novel, yet are strong enough to stand alone in this work of fiction.

The familiarity of the characters and setting of this work may be what draw readers in, as surely they want to find out whatever happened to this endearing family. However, the true lure of this book soon proves to be the sheer suspense of the often unexpected triumphs and tragedies that stay present in ones thoughts long after they have read the last page.

Though the Cappadora family exists solely in the imagination of Mitchard and her devoted fans, the characters become almost real as they give readers true cause for frustration, celebration, and mourning alike. This unique tale is unable to be categorized, and exists as a poignant and suspenseful examination of the limits of the human spirit.

This novel, like it's characters, is not perfect. However, it's beautifully displayed instances of raw human emotion are true to form, and readers will surely be able to see themselves in the thoughts and actions portrayed by a family continually doing the best that they can.

The optimal reading of "No Time to Wave Good-bye" will be done with a copy of "The Deep End of the Ocean" close by, as devoted readers will surely want to flip between the two. Once finished, close the book and open it again- the second reading is every bit as sweet as the first.

I had read Deep End of the Ocean years ago and was thrilled to see that the sequel had been written. What a disappointment once I started reading it. This was one of the most confusing books I've read all summer. She must have introduced 35 people before I got to the third chapter. Way too many characters to keep them straight! I could not even finish it which is extremely rare for me!

To say that I was "looking forward" to reading No Time to Wave Goodbye would be like saying that I "look forward" to winning the lottery. In fact, that is exactly what it felt like, when I learned that Ms Mitchard would be writing this sequel to one of my favorite books of all time, the Deep End of the Ocean. Through Ms. Mitchard's specific, searing prose, I came to know Beth and Vincent and Sam in all of their wrenching hardship, pain, and eventual redemption. And yet while I would idly wonder what would happen to the Cappadora family, I never actually thought that I would one day know. And yet fate (and Ms. Mitchard) seemed to smile on all of us with the recent publication of No Time to Wave Goodbye.

This next book is slimmer, some 200 pages shorter than the original. Yet it grabs you in much the same way, refusing to release you until you're heaved, gasping and drained, onto the final page. I will not detail the plot points here, but will just leave you with a very high recommendation to go out and read this book. This book is filled with wonderfully poignant moments that I found myself reading, then re-reading; I even loved the confrontations because Ms. Mitchard is at her best when knotted skeins of familial relationships are wrought and tested.

The only thing I would possibly change is that I wish there was more: more interactions between Vincent and Sam, more time with Vincent's old psychiatrist Tom, more time exploring the very complicated relationship that Pat, Beth and Sam have forged. I missed the driveway basketball games of the first book, which explored so much of the brothers' relationship without even a word of dialog. I suppose the past ten years have made me greedy, but of course, as I never thought I would get a sequel in the first place, it is more than enough. Much more.

Thank you, Ms. Mitchard.

Even if Mitchard deliberately wrote this book in a confusing and disjointed way to portray the emotional level at which many of the characters appeared to be living, it would not compensate for its disappointing result. The plot was predictable with a denouement that was painfully contrived. Certainly the abduction of a child completely reconfigures the family as a whole and the individuals within it. While the author worked very hard to convey this truth as well as hold out the promise of healing, she was far from successful.

I read The Deep End of the Ocean, and it was excellent. It's hard to believe the same person wrote No Time to Wave Goodbye. It was like a really bad made for TV movie. I skipped ahead and read a part here and there, just to make sure I had correctly guessed the unlikely, contrived ending. It was even worse than I had guessed. Very disappointing...

I have never read Jacquelyn Mitchard's work, so I was looking forward to it. Coming off of pretty much all of Jodi Piccoult's novels, Sarah's Key, and a few others -- this has to be one of the worst.

I have not read *the deep end of the ocean* so I will give that the benefit of the doubt.

Here's the thing - child abduction....you can probably create a novel that better portrays the feelings of a parent, sister, brother, friend, than somethng like writing a screenplay and having your niece abducted. It was confusing, and with as an example, I still can't figure out who is who 122 pages in....i actually have had to stop just to white this review b/c it is such a struggle.


I get where she was going but -- choppy, no flow, no substance....just NOT a good book.

Jodi Piccoult would have had this NAILED.

I'm on page 122 and it is painful for me to finish. I have been struggling just to get to page 122.....so if this tells you anything..

This is also the first time I have ever written a review on any book I have read. I feel compelled to -- horrible. if you buy it, spend 1$.

sorry.

All of us who wondered what happened to the Cappadoras after we closed our copies of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN can now take a deep sigh of relief. But that cozy "so nice to meet up with you again" feeling is only temporary. It's been 22 years since Beth Cappadora suffered the shocking disappearance of her three-year-old son, Ben, and 13 years since he returned to their lives. Ben has married Eliza, the daughter of Beth's friend (and the police detective who led the search for Ben) Candy. Ben and Eliza have a beautiful baby girl named Stella. Ben works at his father Pat's restaurant, which has been very successful. Beth also has been fulfilled in her work: her photographs appear in museums, art galleries and books.

Life is quite far from perfect, however. Ben has insisted, ever since he was found, that he be called "Sam," the name his kidnapper gave him. He calls Beth's husband, his birth father, "Pat." Ben states that George, the husband of his now-deceased kidnapper, is his true father and calls him "Dad." Beth and Pat truly like George, who they include in many family gatherings at Ben's insistence, but his presence in their lives rankles, always reminding them of the horror of the kidnapping and seeming somehow to unwittingly distance their son from his Cappadora family connections.

Vincent, Ben's older brother, has suffered gut-wrenching guilt over Ben's kidnapping ever since it happened. After all, he was the one who was supposed to be watching Ben for the brief moment their mother was distracted in that hotel lobby. After a disaster-filled adolescence, however, Vincent appears to be finding his way as a filmmaker. As the story opens, he invites his family to the premiere of a documentary he has just finished.

Beth is devastated, especially at first, to discover that the movie, called No Time to Wave Goodbye, relays the personal stories of families who have suffered child abductions. She wonders if pulling his family back into the black era following his brother's disappearance is some kind of retribution from Vincent for the years of grief-fueled poor parenting he received. Beth's pain is intensified by the fact that so many of the people closest to her participated in the movie's making --- and that none of them breathed a word about it to her. However, the film enables her to grow closer to Vincent, opening up topics they had been unable or unwilling to discuss previously.

As time passes, Vincent's movie is shown in many mainstream movie theaters and begins to win awards at film festivals. When No Time to Wave Goodbye is nominated for an Academy Award, Vincent's thrilled family attends the ceremony, leaving tiny Stella with a trusted family friend. At the very moment pride and joy overwhelm the Cappadoras, an unimaginable tragedy strikes them. This nightmare opens them up to sorrow, fear, public scrutiny and danger, while adding yet more guilt to Vincent's burden and adding urgency to his quest for redemption.

If readers find the very beginning of the book to be a bit on the leisurely side, they must persevere. The plot twists and turns, with Jacquelyn Mitchard capably amping up the ante almost unbearably, especially toward the conclusion. Fair warning: Just when the reader believes she has experienced every emotion available to her, the story takes one final swift curve --- Pow! --- straight into the heart. NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE is an absolute must-read for anyone who devoured the equally wonderful and terrifying THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

Back in the late 90's, I was just getting back into reading when, lo and behold, Oprah started her book club. For as much as the reader elite got pleasure in putting down an Oprah pick, I, on the other hand, couldn't wait for each new one to be announced. I was right there, at the beginning with her, when she touted Deep End of the Ocean as the first book to be read by the "club". I read it and loved it and was consequently introduced to Jacqueline Mitchard as a "new to me" author. I can probably count on one hand the books that have brought me to tears and Deep End was one of them.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized that her newest book was a sequel to that Oprah pick. I don't think there's anyone, who has read that book, who has not wondered, in their literary mind of course, whatever happened to the Cappadora family. Now was my chance to see what occurred in the years following their discovery that their kidnapped son Ben was still alive and well....and living just a few blocks from them. If you haven't read Deep End of the Ocean, I highly recommend reading it before beginning to delve into No Time To Say Goodbye.....if you must!!!

In a way, I almost wish I hadn't read Deep End because then I wouldn't have wasted my time reading this sequel. So I guess that pretty much spells out what I thought of this book. I always seem to be a sucker for all these five star Amazon reviews and I don't know when I'm going to learn my lesson and check to see just how many of them are written by first time reviewers....reviewers who have only written one review on this site. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that these are friends of the author obviously trying to boost the rating of the book.

So where did this book fall short for me? I think I'd have to start with the writing which is so disjointed that half the time I had to reread sentences and paragraphs just to find out where the characters were and how they got there. There is so much misplaced punctuation that it actually made it hard to read at times. The writing is so deplorable that I even found it hard to believe that the same author wrote both books. But I figured I'd overlook that and just try to enjoy the book. But my question is....how can you enjoy a book when you're basically disliking every character? Did I dislike them this much the first time around? I don't think so but I definitely didn't like anything about them in this go-round.

So many other reviewers have already given synopses of this story about the older brother Vincent trying to make something of his life by getting into the movie business. He's certainly talented but, unfortunately, his recent documentary will bring back some bad memories of a time in the Cappadora's lives where everyone was walking around in a daze. This was because their youngest son Ben had been kidnapped, while Vincent was supposed to be keeping an eye on him. So his has been a life filled with guilt. The only one who seems not to have minded those years is Ben himself, who still considers his kidnapper's husband to be his real father. I just found this part of the book so appalling, as Ben calls his real parents by their first names, Beth and Pat, while he calls this other man Dad. And, as if that isn't bad enough, he's so nasty to them and flaunts this relationship in their faces all the time.

As the story progresses, the family will once again face a potential tragedy that will bring out the worst in all of them. The only redeeming character in this entire book is the son Vincent, who I also felt an attachment to in the first book.

Prior to reading this, I had been on such a great run with mostly five star reads. This one ruined my streak. If you've already read Deep End of the Ocean, stop there and don't go any further. Just cherish those memories of a really good book and don't have them marred by a really not so good book.

I am a consummate reader, so when I find awkward phrases in the first page of a story, I get a little nervous. I reread it, thinking perhaps I missed something. no; truly, here's a few lines from the first page of the book:

"Vincent slept like a man who'd fallen from a relaxed standing position after being hit on the back of the head by a frying pan....

.... Her relationship with Vincent didn't admit of nighttime confidences..."

huh? I plowed through the first two chapters and was introduced to MANY characters some of whom had changed their names as well as many other strange sentences describing odd thoughts and ideas that merely littered the story.

Life is too short. Read a book written by someone who can actually write.