Although this book had an overall cute storyline and generally likable characters, I didn't particularly enjoy the book. If it says anything, I enjoyed reading it mostly because it had a fun plastic cover that made noise every time I turned a page--a perk of checking out library books!Perhaps I am not Lurlene McDaniel's intended audience, because it seems that she has published several books of this very same nature, none of which look like something I would like to read. The plot was rather cliche and trite. It follows the story of young Darcy Qinlen whose mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Darcy experiences her pain as she watches her mother suffer. This is another coming-of-age novel where Darcy finds solace and hope in caring for her mother's garden. Throughout the book, Darcy experiences despair, heartache, hope, and all the while finds (and loses ironically) her first love.I didn't particularly like the writing style and I hoped that such an overwhelmingly emotional and sappy book would leave me crying and emotional myself--I didn't even shed a tear, which is not typical of me. If you're looking for a nice, quick read on the beach, then maybe this is the book for you. If not, maybe try something else.
I could go on and on about the plot, the characters, the many pages in this book but it would not really matter. What matters is that Lurlene McDaniel wrote an amazingly good book, like she always does. This book is set in a time that happened before most readers were even born...I should know, I was born in 1989 and the book is set in 1974-1975.The only thing I can complain about is why couldn't McDaniel pair up Jason with Darcy? I liked how Darcy experienced "first love" and "feeling like a woman" but I really longed to see them actually get together. And it saddened me, to no end, that in the epilogue, Darcy received word that, years after the story took place, Jason was killed in a motorcycle accident. I had hoped that Jason and Darcy would have found each other again, but I supposed that was not meant to be.I'm the type of person that cries and gets sad when characters die in a book...well, characters I like, that is. This book is very good, but also sad.
What do You think about Garden Of Angels (2005)?
This is a pretty decent book to read. The thing i liked most about it is that it brings back Vietnam in another words it talks a bit about the Vietnam war which I learned this year is a very important war that happened back then. Big things should never fade away, always remind the world of what things has happened in the U.S. It shares deep feelings of a girl Darcy. Cancer is something that has killed many lifes today. I learned that we should all love one another because you never know when the world will end or what will happen tomarow. Life your life to the fullest and make others smile.
—Priyanka_
This book was about Darcy Quinlin living in Conners. As a high school student, she lives a very hard life because of what she is going through either in school or in life. Darcy wanted to talk to her mother about the war in Vietnam during 1974 and about her mother's tests in Altanta. Darcy had grown as a daughter in the family to help her mother with her garden and to take care of her mother.I think this book was okay. Not as good as the books that Lurlene McDaniel had written before. Throughout the story, I had notice the character changing, from being afraid to brave, from weak to strong. As usual, I had learne lesson from this book and had some connections with the book. But overall, I don't really like this book, not really bad, but not very good.
—Michelle
