Customer Reviews

Shelter Me

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved Shelter Me. The premise shook me up -- as a mother of young kids I can't even imagine how we would ever deal with losing my husband in an accident. It was a joy to get inside Janie's head and join her world, her struggles to get herself and the kids through every day -- no wonder Rice Crispies will just have to do for dinner sometimes!

The book is full of humor and various forms of love, and the details of life are captured just right. Juliette Fay has woven a fine story full of interesting and quirky characters.

Personally I felt torn between wanting to read the book quickly, eager to see what would happen next, yet not wanting it to end. I highly recommend this book.

I laughed, I cried. I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want it to end!
Shelter Me made me appreciate the wonderful people & good things in my own life, without being preachy or heavy.
Janie's story is told in part through her own journal entries, giving the reader the chance to experience events through Janie's eyes (and heart). The story moves along, with just the right sprinkling of these entries throughout.

This is a book I'll share and gift (too bad it came out after the holidays this winter).

It's been a long time since I got into the story of a book enough that it kept me up late (very late!) reading it, but this one did. Fay has captured some of the truths we are all discovering - that life can change drastically in an instant - that help can come from surprising places. She does it with interesting characters, many of whom have fun quirks (don't we all?) I loved the scenes in which her young son dealt with his turmoil by wearing and hiding behind swim goggles.

It's a fun read and highly satisfying. I recommend it.

When I began "Shelter Me", I thought, oh, no, here we go again, let's all feel sorry for the widow. But Juliette Fay never had me feeling too sorry for Janie - Janie was tough and was doing OK. Her character development is second to none. If anyone is tired of Jodi Piccoult's too deep, pity party novels, you will definitely be glad you picked up Juliette Fay's Shelter Me. You won't be sorry.

Juliette Fay does remarkable job of weaving story lines and current events throughout her plot. Janie, the young widow, struggles to cope with her grief and anger and the demands of being a 24x7 single parent. She is surrounded by quirky relatives, neighbors and others who help her reconnect and reach out to her life again. The story is told with humor, insight, and a willingness to explore taboos. My favorite idea was "Pology Cake," a way of reconnecting with those you've wounded - I'm definitely going to use it myself!

This is simply a great story. As a husband and a father, it made me both laugh out loud and cry hard enough that I had to put down the book for a while. At the end, I was left with a greater awareness of what a wonderful world I live in.

I was given this book by a friend who said, "I think you will like this". Well, I did not like it, I loved it so much I contacted the author to tell her how much it touched me, and continues to do so a year later. (and she responded from her heart - how many authors do this?) I am a contractor as is one of the two main characters and yes, I could relate to this aspect of the story, but it is about people who are brought to life so vividly, so poignantly and so believably that I came to know and care about them - what more could a novelist want from her efforts? The book is exquisitely written in both third and first-person voices - not an easy thing to pull off. I could go on and on, and usually do, but all I can say is this is a touching, funny, thought-provoking story about people whose lives help make mine make more sense. Read it.

This book isn't the type of book I usually read, but it came highly recommended by a friend so I gave it a try. I didn't expect it to be a page-turner, but I couldn't put it down! I fell in love with the characters and they stuck with me for days after finishing the book.

Definitely worth reading (and even purchasing for a later re-read!)

I loved this book and I shouldn't have. I am an old man and we're not supposed to like "chick-lit." But you know, Shelter Me is much more than that. It is so well written, and some experiences, such a a new widow's grief at the end of the afternoon when her husband no longer comes home, Fay absolutely nails. Describing the emotions of a priest falling in and out of love is a touchy task, and she delivers on that, too.
This is the type of book women will read and then insist that their partners read so they can have someone to talk about it with. It is amazing that this is her first novel. We will anxiously await her next one!

There are good books you gladly pass on to friends or the local reseller, but Shelter Me is the rare novel I will always keep in my bookcase, too shelfish to lend out and risk losing it. Touching, funny, real - it's a book that keeps you up reading late into the night,and the characters are still with you days after finishing. I surprised myself by crying at least four times and laughing countless times. Juliette Fay - please write more!! You have a true gift!