Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster [Hardcover]

Kaye Gibbons (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: HARCOURT BRACE & CO@ (1987)
• ASIN: B000SMZ65Y
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ellen Foster is a hard act to follow..., January 3, 2006

By 

VoraciousReader (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster (Hardcover)

Kaye Gibbons is one of my favorite authors. I have worn out three copies of Ellen Foster and given several other copies as gifts so I was VERY excited to see that Ms. Gibbons was writing a follow up.

But.

I found this book not at all up to her standards. It rambles and the voice isn't as clear and as perfect as it was in the original. Instead of having a plot, Life All Around Me is more of a collection of Ellen's random thoughts and it was hard for me to get interested, possibly because I have such high expectations for this author's work. All in all, it was sadly disappointing.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If I Could Give This Three and a Half Stars, I Would, January 11, 2006

By 

Diane B. Wilkes "Diane Wilkes, Voracious Reader" (Oreland, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster (Hardcover)

I read Ellen Foster when it was first published and fell in love with the straight-talking, clear-eyed spunky protagonist. I gave this book to many people and was delighted when it was chosen as an Oprah book.

I had high hopes for this sequel and I like the premise, that of Ellen completing an essay, as only Ellen can, for early entrance to Harvard.

The narrative voice is still very strong, but some of the exchanges with Ellen's odd friends were difficult to follow and seemed rather extraneous. Additionally, there were some "happy endings" and situations that, as a reader, I found unrealistic and inconsistent with some of the characters' behavior.

A quick read and necessary for those who must know "what happened" to Ellen Foster, but mostly disappointing.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointment, January 25, 2006

By 

Book It (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster (Hardcover)

I have loved all of Kaye Gibbons previous books. Therefore, I was greatly disappointed with her new one. It was the most disjointed book I have ever read. I finally stopped reading on page 86 in the middle of a paragraph. Not only would I not recommend buying this book, I would not suggest checking it out of the library either.