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Read Karen White's posts on the Penguin Blog.
The award-winning author of The Memory of Water delivers a gripping tale of family, fate, and forgiveness.
When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.
Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong.
Lannie
Posted November 10, 2009
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Piper Mill's search for answers to her long time questions leads to exciting, mysterious clues to family secrets. Karen's books stick with you! I highly recommend!
A few more that STICK with you are THE HELP, EXPLOSION IN PARIS and SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME...When you finish these books you walk away with a glow....
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Piper Mills has been raised by her grandparents since the age of six, when her parents were killed in a car crash. A crash that she walked away from. She goes on with her life, believing that she will be free from tragedy. Living in Savannah, her grandparents encourage her to become an equestrian. On the eve of realizing her dream of going to the Olympics, Piper takes a fall off her horse that almost kills her. Her broken bones heal, leaving her with a limp, but her broken spirit does not.
All Piper remembers of her grandmother is a woman in the background, with no spirit, no opinions, no life. She has been in a nursing home due to Alzheimer's for years. When Piper's granddaddy dies, she is give clues that lead her to believe there is more to her grandmother's story. Sadly, her grandmother dies before she can learn what that might be.
Armed with a tin box full of scrapbook pages, a key to a hidden room, an angel charm, and a knitted blue baby sweater and blanket, Piper sets off to discover the grandmother she never knew. Along the way, maybe she will reawaken the Piper that has been sleeping for so long.
This was my first Karen White book, though The House on Tradd Street has been on my TBR list for awhile. I really, truly enjoyed this book. It was so easy to become immersed in the story and to visualize Asphodel Meadows and Savannah.
Gripping the wheel tightly, I angled the car and turned, finding myself suddenly enveloped in the canopy of an ancient live oak alley. I stopped the car, looking at the old trees that barely resembled the live oaks of Savannah's squares despite the generous shawls of Spanish moss. These trees were darkened and withered, despite enough leaves to show that they were alive. But the limbs were bent and gnarled, the knobs at the forks like the bent shoulders of mourners at a funeral.(p54)
Ms. White combines tragedy, family, mystery and a touch of romance for a heartwarming story that life does go on.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I would definitely recommend this book to women of almost all ages! I really enjoyed it! It started off just a smidgen slow at first but picked up pretty quick. I thought I knew what the story was from the beginning (very predictable) but I was very pleasantly surprised to be wrong. After the book was over I still wanted to read more! One of my top 5 books now! You can't go wrong with this book.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In Karen White's latest novel The Lost Hours she gives us another sampling of her excellent storytelling where her imagery vivid dialogue makes her words come alive for us in full tecchnicolor glory. She tells a unique tale of the South with characters that are as damaged as they are salvageable and very human. As always there's a story within a story, and a compelling and heartbreaking mystery to solve. The story will leave you with that warm cozy feeling you get with a hot cocoa on a cold winter's day or a bouquet of spring flowers. This novel will appeal to lovers of Southern literature, drama, romance or just fans of incredibly talented writers.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The riding accident that almost killed her and left her parents' dead mentally buried Piper Mills as her dream of riding in the Olympics was crushed that day. Though she mostly ran from her major disappointment and fantasized re her the deaths of her parents, she never fully moved on.
Following the recent death of her beloved grandfather, she inherits the farm; her grandmother died earlier in a nursing home having suffered from Alzheimer's. Strange notes from her grandma via their lawyer Mr. Morton remind Piper that as a preadolescent twelve years ago she buried a box in the garden with her grandfather. She digs up the box that contains stuff belonging to her grandma like a 1920-1930s journal, newspaper article about a dead infant, and a necklace with a charming story of its own. She begins to seek out those still alive mentioned in the journal to learn who her grandmother was.
This is an interesting look at family as Piper is elated to learn her grandma's story while alos feeling a bit remorseful she made no efforts to do so when her grandma lived; in fairness she was too young to appreciate mortality. The story line is character driven as Piper learns the meaning of forgiving (including herself) from the journal and her grandma's friends who are still living. Readers will enjoy this deep Savannah River family drama.
Harriet Klausner
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Once again Karen White captures you within the first few pages. She has a way of relating her characters in words that are visualized easily in your mind. The story makes you think about your own family history and sets you wondering about all those missing pieces we all seem not to have, or the secrets only hinted about but never revealed. I wonder how far I would go to find them, if I were brave enough. Bravo, Karen! I look forward to your next book!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.TeresaKC
Posted June 25, 2009
Enjoyed reading this book and The House on Tradd Street. The Lost Hours was easy to read and get involved with the characters of the story. The book was a relaxing book to read and especially enjoyed the description of the setting and town of Savannah.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.love2readBY
Posted June 13, 2009
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This is just the type of novel I enjoy. The characters were believable, likeable but flawed. I enjoyed learning about Piper's grandmother's mysterious past and the underlying message that most people are probably more complex than we realize. I would definitely recommend this book - hard to put down.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 6, 2009
I have read all of Karen White's books and loved each of them!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I loved the writing style of Karen White in this novel. She switches from forst person to third with the ease of a master. Allowing the reader to experience the story from many angles. Her descriptive abilities allowed me to step into the south with all senses.
The plot kept me guessing and intrigued, until the very end.
Bravo, Karen!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 29, 2011
Just a great all around read! Best book I've read in a long time!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.just-a-thot
Posted July 9, 2010
Another Karen White hit! Highly recommend.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.RDJR
Posted April 17, 2010
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Well written with interesting characters. I felt that it would have been nice if everyone had been more honest with each other, but wait! there wouldn't have been a story if they had been!! The plot was rather original and engaging. My book club had mixed opinions and most really enjoyed it while a few were not as much so, but on the whole it got thumbs up and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I reccommend it to anyone who enjoys the messiness of human emotions and family relationships. A very good read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 11, 2009
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Very nice, entertaining read with likable characters
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.*NO SPOILERS*
The mystery of the family secrets carries you along in this book.
I kept feeling compelled to read it in order to know the "big" secret.
It was like being pulled along (like a river).
The ending was very emotional for me to read.
I was crying my eyes out the last 2-3 chapters when what the "lost hours" actually were were final revealed.
Wonderful title for the book that until the end you do not know why it was called "The Lost Hours".
Very good read that I am glad I put the "hours" in to read. They were not "lost hours".
I have also read Karen White's The House on Tradd Steet. A wonderful book that is to be a series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 5, 2013
I like how Karen White writes you can picture the charactors
in your mind by how she decribes everything. This story was
good and it kept you wanting to keep reading to see what was
going to happen next. I would recommend this to anyone who wants
something light to read.
Anonymous
Posted May 3, 2013
Eh... dull
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 16, 2013
I love this book and did i mention i love it? Emma
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.the-PageTurner
Posted December 29, 2012
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This is a remarkable book. Karen White is a most wonderful writer of family histories. This one starts out with a woman's desire to find our more about her grandmother. And from there the story gets more and more interesting and has one twist right after another . I got to the point where I had to know what happened This is her best.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 6, 2012
Rockshard sighed, feeling forgotten.
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Overview
Read Karen White's posts on the Penguin Blog.
The award-winning author of The Memory of Water delivers a gripping tale of family, fate, and forgiveness.
When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.
Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her ...