Customer Reviews

A Page Out of Life

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Seemed a little hoakey and I didn't connect well with the characters.

That being said- it was an easy read- just not one I would want to own, so I passed it on.

A Page Out of Life by Kathleen Reid is, at its core, the story of frazzled mother of four Ashley Gates. As the book opens, we get an instant snapshot of Ashley's lifestyle - stained t-shirt and sweatpants, unkempt hair, frequent silent promises to herself to improve, and nerves stretched to here - "a caricature of her former self". Constant demands from family have taken priority over any time for herself. I must admit that several of Ashley's scenes of self-doubt and horror at "what have I become??" made me feel a little uncomfortable, for hitting a little TOO close to home.

"...Ashley felt embarrassed by her inability to transform herself or her house into something special. There was a time when she'd considered herself incredibly organized and chic, but her present surroundings seemed as scattered as she now felt. You've got to pull yourself together, she thought miserably as her mother's words echoed inside her mind."

"Nothing was as it should have been: her house, her figure, her marriage. She felt utterly alone and embarrassed by her inability to figure a way out of the rut she was in. She was so tired she felt she would drop."

When Ashley calls her girlfriend Megan for a little "retail therapy", Megan suggests they also stop by to meet her scrapbooking friends. The scrapbooking group meets weekly at each others' to work on their albums. While Ashley doesn't believe she's very good at "the arts-and-crafts thing", she agrees to stop by one of the meetings. Eventually she begins going to the weekly sessions.

The book also follows the stories of the other scrapbooking women: Tara, a single grad student whose history with an absentee father colors her current search for love; and Libby, a semi-retired teacher who must deal with the shocking disillusionment after her son is charged in a corporate scandal.

Each scrapbooking session becomes therapy, as each woman in the group works through her personal crises with the help of sisterhood and crafts. The dialogue in the book is very similar to what you might hear at a scrapbooking crop, and will make any scrapbooking reader feel right at home. As each woman works on her pictures and albums, she shares details from her life, and the other women provide support and feedback that help her find her way. I loved that aspect of the book - that female friendship can provide a support network that can be immeasurably valuable. That was probably the biggest thing I took away from the book - a reminder of how much I value my own group of scrapbooking friends, and that I need to make it a priority to attend our meetings, as an investment in myself.

Overall, A Page Out of Life evokes a wonderful sense of "Will she, or won't she?"

Will Ashley be able to rediscover herself and her passions in life?

Will Libby be able to cope with life after her son's fall from grace?

Will Tara succumb to her decadent desires, conveniently forgetting her own family situation?

A Page Out of Life is a fairly quick read, despite its 320 pages - you can find the answers to these questions in a weekend!

This book gives the reader a three strong, vivid women as it's main characters. You'll undoubtedly find that you can relate to one of them. A great read!

Wow! Page out of Life is such a great read. I loved it. It is the perfect book for a book club to read and discuss. I can not wait to give it to my mother and mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

Finally someone has written a book set against the backdrop of scrapbooking! Beautifully written and I plan to give copies to my friends who love to scrapbook. I really do love the characters and how we can all relate to pieces of each of them. I highly recommend this book.

The book A Page Out of Life focuses on the types of relationships people have with their families, their friends, and themselves. The main characters are women who are at different stages of their lives. Ashley is a young mother who is overwhelmed with four children. Libby is struggling to help her adult son who is facing legal troubles. Tara, on the other hand, is single and longing to have a family. Brought together through a scrapbooking club, these women find they have other things in common and each becomes an important source of strength and inspiration for the others.

This book provides an easy and enjoyable reading experience. The main characters are well-developed and likeable. Each reader should be able to connect with at least one character because their stories revolve mainly around everyday occurrences in life. Prepare for an outpouring of emotions. There were times when I laughed and times I was close to tears. I enjoyed how the author took me through the thought processes of the characters as they were making important decisions about their futures. Doing this helped make the characters seem more real to me.

A Page Out of Life offers two important messages for its readers. First, everyone has the ability to contribute something to help another person in need. Small acts of kindness, even if it is listening to someone's problems or offering to babysit for their children, are often rewarded with large amounts of gratitude. The second message is to accept yourself for who you are and do not allow others to judge you. If you want to make changes in your life then you should, but it must be done for the right reasons.

A Page Out of Life is a well-written story that will touch the hearts of its readers. Kathleen Reid has created credible characters whose paths crossed through a hobby about which they are passionate. I am looking forward to her future works.

Armchair Interviews says: You'll love this book.

This book follows three main characters: Ashley, Tara and Libby, who are in a scrapbooking club together. Ashley is a frazzled mom of four, Tara is a single grad student and Libby is a grandmother whose son is involved in a corporate scandal.

I was interested in this book because the characters scrapbook (like me!). But this book is in SERIOUS need of editing. There are continuity errors and grammatical errors throughout and the writing is just.not.good. Someone needs to give the author a thesaurus and a lesson on how to craft a metaphor. The general story was mildly entertaining until about two-thirds of the way through when there is a completely unrealistic plot twist that makes little sense. I think the publisher is banking on the fact that scrapbookers will be so excited about the fact that the book has scrapbooking in it that they won't care that it's poorly written. Luckily, I checked it out from the library so I didn't waste my money.

Ashley, the story's essential character, is a weary mother in an oppressive marriage. Ashley soon joins a scrap booking club in effort to carve out some much needed me-time. As the story goes on, you meet Tara and Libby - two other scrap bookers with significant problems of their own.
If you're willing to overlook the awkward dialogue tags then you'll find an enjoyable book, sprinkled with surprises.

As a cropper myself, I enjoyed the theme of this book even though, the idea of two women who just happen to meet at a scrapbook class discovering they were both fathered by the same "world famous" man is just a tad hard to swallow. The fact that one of them had a supermodel for a mom, who must have also have been famous and the object of the public eye is even more far fetched. But the bones of the story about women discovering themselves and going on when they are confronted with trouble and find that what they believed to be true is only an illusion is encouraging.

A friend gave me this book (she gave me Ms. Reid's first book, Paris Match, too). I really enjoyed the characters and the story. It was an easy read and I was hooked from page one. This is a winner - enjoy!