Customer Reviews

Souvenir: A novel by the author of Reunion

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A painful choice at a very young age sets into motion the futures of Meg Powell and all of those closest to her. Meg's decision poses a question we must then ask ourselves. What are we willing to do for love, out of a sense of obligation and responsibility? Can we really follow our heads instead of our hearts and still be happy?

Therese Fowler brings to us into the world of the Florida citrus growers and of the haves and the have-nots through her beautifully rendered imagery, and we understand the impact that a single choice can make. Life doesn't ever go as planned and when Meg is confronted with a situation where there is no good choice to be made, she's forced to re-examine all of her decisions.

While Meg struggles to come to terms with the hardest reality any human being can face, Savannah, her only child is courting danger. Savannah is a personable, intelligent teenager who believes she's capable of handling far more than her limited experience will really allow. Meg must come to terms with her own problems, and we watch helplessly as Savannah naively slips into a situation she's unequipped to handle.

The book is masterfully plotted, the characters are genuine and the story moves quickly. The author has managed to subtly weave literary imagery and the larger questions about parents and children, marriage, love, responsibility, regret, life and death into this fast moving story, without slowing down a thing.

Souvenir is heartbreaking and as we follow the characters, each with his or her story, we're never sure what will happen next. As each question is answered, each challenge resolved we recognize that the stories end in the only way they ever could.

This is a wonderful book, the writing is superb and the story will have you thinking, long after you read the final page.

Sometimes I wonder about Publisher's Weekly reviews. Why not let a woman who loves women's fiction and/or love stories review women's fiction and love stories? When I read the PW review of SOUVENIR I wondered if we'd read the same book. I also wondered if the reviewer was simply a frustrated writer who hasn't been able to sell his/her stuff. I'm a successful writer myself. I've sold 47 novels of romance and women's fiction. I also teach writing -- online now and at the University of Houston in the past. I know good writing. And SOUVENIR is a beautifully written book with terrific character development. And Meg, Carson, and Savannah are all terrific characters. I even liked Brian. Yes, he's a scmuck a lot of the time, but underneath there's a decent man. Thing is, real people are not all good or all bad, and real people make stupid choices. What we hope, though, is that we learn by making those mistakes. I loved this book and will recommend it to all my friends. I predict that Therese Fowler will be a huge star one day and my only advice to her is, WRITE FASTER. :) VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I was very excited to read this book after losing someone I loved to ALS. This book made me angry that after watching someone suffer not much was told about the disease or any of the new ways people are living longer with it. I did not feel the story ever fully developed the characters and I found myself not really caring. I think this book is fair and I finished it that was why I gave three stars. I don't really understand the 5 star reviews out there, I must have missed something, but I don't feel that I did. I never cried once in this story, and I cry very easily. So the raw emotion I was expecting never materialized. Find better novels, this is not worth all the hype.

A novel that cuts through your heart! I have to say I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the love story, but hated the heartbreak! That does not mean I didn't enjoy the book, it was an amazing love story, one that was difficult to read. The choices the characters had to live with were very difficult to imagine. Each character was faced with a choice about his or her life and how it would affect the people around them. Meg, the main character has had her share of stress to say the least. She must put others before herself so many times, I felt sorry for her. She then faces the decision of a lifetime, and must make a rather eye opening decision. The reader is faced to look at themselves and consider what they would do in this situation. A very controversial topic, but one that really makes you THINK. I look for more from this author in the future. If you head out to buy a book-go ahead and pick up a box of Kleenex while your at it!

This book was sad, modern, but at times was slightly unbelievable and moved slowly. I found myself scanning the pages to get through the chapter because I didn't really care what the characters were doing. The character development was not strong but I cared about the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. I would recommend others to read it but the comparison to Picoult that was on the book jacket is a bit of a stretch for this first novel.

I have to admit that I cried------a lot------when I read this book. It's a beautiful story of making choices and then living with them. It's a beautiful story of love, trust, growing up, growing old, living and dying. I couldn't put this book down. I found it hard to read through my tears. But I loved it all. Someone else earlier wrote about the characters staying with you long after you're finished reading. I have to agree totally. I drove over 200 miles today and during the entire drive, I thought about the people, the story, the ending, the impact it made on my life
This was an awesome book. I will read more by this author.

I do not understand some of the reviews on this book. This book was AMAZING! I connected with the characters and could not put this book down. I could see a beautiful, wonderful movie out of this book. If there were one book I would recommend this year, it is this one. However, one reviewer is correct, you need a box of tissues with this one! Can't wait for her to write another book!

While Meg Powell struggles with a variety of mid-life quandaries (including a couple that truly tug at the heartstrings), a very serious development forces her to reassess her approach, priorities, and values as she grows more determined to live her life as she sees fit. In the midst of all this, Meg finds a way to guarantee that the love she harbors for those most near and dear to her is recorded despite increasingly debilitating circumstances.

A few powerful messages ring clear through this story; Carpe Diem is just one. Live today as though it's your last, because life really is too short. Therese Fowler gives Meg the courage to do (more than once) what she knows in her heart she must do. This reader, for one, will never forget her.

This is a heart-wrenching story about losing love, finding it again, and connections with the ones we love. Meg leaves Carson to marry a man she doesn't love but has alot to offer her family, who needs his help badly. When Meg finds out about her disease she starts to try to set the things in her life straight. Having two daughters of my own, i thought the best part of the book was the journal that Meg writes for her daughter, so that she will always know how much she is loved and Meg can tell her things that she cannot tell her now.

I thought this was a great book! A great choice for our book club!