Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Inspired by an indescribably sad photo of a woman so ashamed and desperate she feels she must SELL HER CHILDREN, and this author decides to write about the newspaper people who took the photo and not about the family in the photo!?!?!?!?!?! It's the author's story, sure. But, wow, what a missed opportunity. The silly will-she-or-won't-she, torn-between-two-lovers "romance." Seriously? This is what the author focused on? How did the mother in the photo reach this point of despair? Where is the father/husband? What did the mother do after her children were sold? How about some input from the children themselves: how they felt in their new homes or about their mother for selling them. Whether the little girl became aware of the mental illness and sadness of her new mother and how she realized what this meant for her own future and personhood. The terror that little boy must have felt as his new circumstances became apparent to him. And the ridiculous mobster angle. Which was resolved when the mobsters were given a good talking-to. Really. Had to read this for my book club or I would never have finished it. Too many books out there to be reading drivel like this. I hate saying that, because I have so much respect for what authors do. And this author can surely set a scene and design a sentence. The 1930s newsroom really came to life. I kept picturing Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "Woman of the Year." But given that this story was inspired by such a gut-wrenching photo, I was expecting more "Grapes of Wrath" and Henry Fonda/Tom Joad.