Customer Reviews

Hometown Ties: A Novel (The Four Lindas)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Years ago, four little girls named Linda attended the same school and were in the same class. To avoid confusion they started going by their middle names, but they became instant friends. Now, they are all in their early fifties, and once again living in the same hometown, but their friendship is rediscovering itself.

Caroline's mother has Alzheimer's and when Caroline makes a routine trip to the grocery store, her mother vanishes. When hunting for her in the neighborhood, Caroline gets the disturbing news that her mother is naked down by the wharf. By the time Caroline arrives, there is a police stand-off and her mother is holed up on a docked fishing boat, threatening to jump. Caroline calls her friend and lawyer, Janie, who relocated to Oregon to hopefully put the past behind her, to come and help.

Marley is trying to get in touch with her artistic side and is suffering from "Painter's block," yet she is quick to jump into help with Janie calls for help with Caroline's mom. And soon, the remaining Linda "Abby" is there, toting hamburgers and fries for the mother. Abby is going through marital problems as she struggles with having an "empty nest."

As the four friends struggle to find themselves, yet care for each other's needs in the process, they grow and change. But can they start to thrive in the same small town they grew up in?

HOMETOWN TIES is the second book in the Four Linda's series. Readers will want to read the first book in the series as this is a continuing story, and does not stand alone.

I was instantly drawn into the story as it opens with Caroline and her mother, and I had to admire her as she dealt with her mom and that situation. My heart broke for the mother, and the entire situation. I also felt for Abby as she struggled to find her place in her home, in her marriage, and in her future.

If you are looking for a good women's fiction read to fill your hours this fall, then you will definitely want to pick up HOMETOWN TIES by Melody Carlson. The characters will take you by your heartstrings and hold on.

There is alcohol mentioned a lot... so the 2 star review by the person who mentioned that is valid. I would give this 3.5 stars, but with the missing half star, I rounded up to a 4.

Melody Carlson creates characters that become your friends. I felt like the fifth Linda, weeping and laughing along with them. I'm not ready to let them go and hope there's a third book in this series. I'd like to see what happens to them. Novel Journey gives Hometown Ties a high recommendation.

It was great so see mature women going through real life issues and supporting one another in the process.

After failing to stay in touch with one another for years, the fiftyish four Lindas have reconnected. They attended elementary school in the same class starting in first grade at Clifden, Oregon. As they became BFFs, each agreed to use their middle names to reduce the Linda confusion. Now as each does their life over, they vow to help one another achieve their objective though success will prove difficult to even define.

Widow attorney Janie still grieves the death of her beloved spouse. Abby has not adapted to the empty nest syndrome as she has defined herself as a mother for ages. Painter Marley feels burned out as she cannot finish a canvas. Finally Caroline finds being her Alzheimer's suffering mother's caretaker extremely strenuous and testing as she has almost no life of her own anymore.

The second Four Lindas tale is an inspiring story based on the premise that a person can achieve so much to overcome what eats at their soul especially when we have loving people in our corner encouraging our fight. Although the plot is thin and it helps to better understand the quartet by reading the previous book As Young As We Feel, fans will relish Melody Carlson's heartwarming concept that with faith and loved ones, a person can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Harriet Klausner

There aren't many books in Christian fiction that showcase women over the age of 50 being extremely active and fit. Most books tend to display them as being close to elderly, wanting to be grandmothers, meddling in their children's lives or becoming busybodies in their neighborhood. However Melody Carlson has shown a different side to passing that "over the hill" milestone. This book shows that while there are different challenges that a 50 something will face than a 20 something will, life can still be unpredictable and fun if good friends are always close by.

As with the first book in the series, the story revolves around four women who were childhood friends connected by a shared first name. After reconnecting after many years, they have found a rekindled friendship that has become crucial as they now face new challenges in their lives. The story is divided into chapters from each woman's point of view. Personally I once again found Caroline and Abby's stories to be the most interesting. Caroline is dealing with a mother who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. It's truly heartbreaking to read about her experiences in dealing with the disease and seeing how it's affected her mother. Abby's story continues with her overbearing husband who puts her down constantly, leaving her emotionally fragile. She thinks that he is having an affair but cannot confirm this. Her story was very emotional as she struggles with her feelings and those towards her husband. I didn't find Marley or Janie's stories to really add to the story. They were interesting but compared to Caroline and Abby, they just felt like filler material until I got back to the other two. Still, reading about how the four friends help out each other is very heartwarming.

While I enjoyed this book very much, there was one little thing that bothered me. Marley's son is gay but that is not the issue. She has accepted him if not agreeing with him because he's her son. The irk I had was that Marley laments that she will never have grandchildren. When asked if they would adopt, she said they won't because her son said it wouldn't be fair to the child. This is the only explanation given. I'm not quite sure why it would be unfair? Is it because the child would get teased for having two dads? Is it because they only want a biological child? I mean kids are going to get teased for just about ANYTHING so using that as an excuse is not really a good one. If they don't want kids, then why not just say it? I just felt this was a very flimsy excuse and either more explanation should have been given or the topic shouldn't have been brought up at all.

Other than this, I enjoyed this book very much. I felt the writing has improved since the first book. There is less dialogue and more focus on moving the story ahead. There is a lot of humor and I was pleased to see references to pop culture being used with the hen-lit set. I especially found the cougar references hilarious. This book focuses more on the characters and their actions. I'll just state this since I saw it brought up elsewhere: the women do socially drink but it's nothing more than a margarita or sangria with friends. No one gets drunk or binge drinks. The focus is more on spending time with friends. I'll be looking forward to reading more books in this series.

While Hometown Ties is unrealistic it is entertaining. Events in each of the Linda's lives happen in such short time spans that it boggles the mind. And while I didn't keep an accurate count, it's disconcerting that almost everytime any of the Lindas get together there are always alcoholic beverages. The next book in the sequel they'll be needing to get together at AA meetings.