The Song Reader

Heartwarming book

I could not put it down. Read while traveling through Wyoming for the first time and hope I didn't miss to much scenery.

Don't Bother

While the premise is interesting, the story gets lost among all the different sub-plots.

Can we be THE 'perfect' family

A new concept in learning about people's lives, and an interesting title for a beautifully old fashioned story about family and friends. THE SONG READER by Lisa Tucker goes down a sentimental journey of old song favorites from the 70's to tell the story of two sisters and the love, loyalty, friendship, and trials that bond them as they grow. There is a mystery element about the telling of these girls lives that also makes the reader want to keep reading and reading. This story will relate to every woman who is a 'fixer' in people's lives. Those women who have time for everyone's problems but their own. The 'people pleaser' who everyone turns too, but who often neglect themselves, and sometimes finds themselves neglecting their family also. Then there is the 'family secret' idea. Are we protecting our loved ones or are we just leaving them in a limbo of wondering 'why' people and events are not quite right as they are happening. This story is not at all maudlin as it might be because of the subject matter. Interestingly, it shows the strengths and abilities of people to deal with what comes up in their lives when they are using their own abilities and the strength that they gain from the support of family and friends. It also shows that family can cause each other pain and mystery just because they feel the need to 'protect' one another. Eventually, 'truth' comes out at the conclusion of this story. What a lovely and emotionally satisfying tale of the human spirit to survive and thrive.

Song Reader

Anyone who loves music will love this book! But you don't have to love music to enjoy it. The story about two sisters and their search for their father is a page-turner right until the very end. I loved this book!

Not what I thought it would be

In the beginning I found the book inspiriring (like everyone else seems to think), but towards the middle it got very boring. The storyline was too dragged out and slow-moving for it's own good. Towards the end, I had to force myself to finish reading.

A beautiful story

In Missouri, a car accident kills the mother of the Norris sisters leaving them with only each other as their father has not been around forever. The older sibling, Mary Beth uses her uncanny ability to know people's desires by 'reading' the songs that stay and play inside their heads to earn money and prestige. As a song reader she has helped the townsfolk, who cherish her. By being her sibling, her preadolescent sister Leeann too has received some of the accolades. People heed the advice of the older sister when it came to marriage, divorce, and just about any other affair of the heart relationship choices.

However, the heroine quickly falls off the pedestal when her advice turns tragic. Not only are some of her former worshippers down on her, but Mary Beth cannot cope with the subsequent disaster. She retreats inside her own world, leaving it to Leeann to face the truth and search for their lost father even while struggling with the collapse of her too human champion.

THE SONG READER is a delightful look at a family already in trouble when a new crisis nearly debilitates the breadwinner. Lisa Tucker avoids soap opera clichés with her powerful portrayal of the two sisters, whose relationship with one another and with townsfolk dramatically turns on one event. Readers fortunate to read this insightful character study will sing the praise of Ms. Tucker for this unusual tale.

Harriet Klausner

Song Reader

The Song Reader is the best book I've read in a long time! Mary Beth & Leeann are so real they feel like friends. The story is beautifully written, in addition to being impossible to put down. Our book club has picked it for May and I can't wait to discuss it with my friends. The end was fantastic: unexpected and yet exactly right, a rare combination in fiction. This book has heart and soul and intelligence. I absolutely loved it, what else can I say?

Impossible-to-put-down page-turner!

I hate to compare such an original voice as Lisa Tucker's to other authors, but there fans of LOVELY BONES and DEEP END OF THE OCEAN will pounce on this debut novel. This is the kind of book that becomes a huge word-of-mouth hit because whiule you're reading it, you'll want to read passages aloud to friends and when you're nearing the finish, you'll be biting your tongue to stop yourself from revealingthe secrets and plot twists to friends who havent read it yet. Once you've finished it, you'll want to recommend it to everyone you know just so you can talk about it and enjoy it all over again. The idea of reading people's future (and past and present) via the songs that are stuck in their heads, is a wonderful invention. It's a clever and thought-provoking idea. But the novel is much more than just that idea: it's a compelling and moving (and funny) tale of family secrets, grief, sacrifice and salvation. You won't forget this novel!

Beautifully written and a great read

I love this book! Mary Beth and Lee Ann have inhabited my soul. Their story is beautifully written by Tucker, but the book is also a great read. I found myself stopping to treasure a lyrical phrase or a challenging idea and then wanting to race ahead to find out how Lee Ann (or if Lee Ann) is able to pull herself and her family out of the situation that they find themselves in. I won't say more because I am encouraging every person I know to read this wonderful work as soon as it is available. The Song Reader will live in my heart and in my head for a long, long, time.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.