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124th out of 153 books
—
140 voters
The Deep End of the Ocean (Cappadora Family #1)
Few first novels receive the kind of attention and acclaim showered on this powerful story -- a nationwide bestseller, a critical success, and the first title chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Both highly suspenseful and deeply moving, The Deep End of the Ocean imagines every mother's worst nightmare -- the disappearance of a child -as it explores a family's struggle to endure...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
July 1st 1997
by Signet
(first published 1995)
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just can't read it... hits too close to home for me as a mom (a three year old is kidnapped) I had to read the ending to see if the kid is ever found alive. I tried skimming a few pages, but when I got to the part where they had to identify a small child in the morgue, I put the book down. I just can't do it.
yeah, I'm a puss.
yeah, I'm a puss.
To be honest, I put this book down so many times in the past. I just couldn't go through with it. It somehow didn't seem to capture my interest. I choose this book because I'm a big fan of emotion evoking books, I just love them. However, as I kept on reading, Beth seemed to actually annoy me rather than gain my sympathy. Beth was so self centered and self absorbed that she couldn't see that anyone else was suffering beside her. I decided that I really didn't like her when she was so cold toward...more
4 likes · like · see review
Oprah's Book Club: A mother's 3 year old son was kidnapped while her back was turned checking into a hotel. I related most with the brother that didn't watch his brother like the mother asked. This was the subplot that held the book together. The mother recognizes her lost son 9 years later mowing lawns. He was innocent in the whole thing and it was sad for him to have two families and to feel torn between having to choose between them.
3 likes · like · see review
Jul 01, 2007
Eilene
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants an interesting read
Shelves:
fondmemories
This book relies heavily on coincidence, which is usually a sign of bad writing. In this case, however, the coincidence is more of a result of a "what if" question, rather than a "how can I loop this all together" scenario. I think its an interesting idea, what happens when the little boy is found, but the bad guys feel like the good guys and the good guys don't feel like anything?
One thing that struck me about this book was how self-centered the main character was. I can't comprehend what she...more
One thing that struck me about this book was how self-centered the main character was. I can't comprehend what she...more
Blurb:
'Watch your brother,' says Beth Cappadora to her seven-year-old son Vincent. Only minutes later she turns again and asks, 'Where's Ben?' It's the moment that every mother fears: for three-year-old Ben is gone. And no one can find him. Despite a police search that becomes a nationwide obsession, Ben has vanished, leaving behind a family that will be torn apart with anguish. Until, nine years later, the undreamed-of happens: a twelve-year-old boy knocks on their door - a boy who does not kno...more
'Watch your brother,' says Beth Cappadora to her seven-year-old son Vincent. Only minutes later she turns again and asks, 'Where's Ben?' It's the moment that every mother fears: for three-year-old Ben is gone. And no one can find him. Despite a police search that becomes a nationwide obsession, Ben has vanished, leaving behind a family that will be torn apart with anguish. Until, nine years later, the undreamed-of happens: a twelve-year-old boy knocks on their door - a boy who does not kno...more
I saw the movie, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, years ago and always had in the back of my mind that I'd like to read the book. I'm glad I did. Jacquelyn Mitchard did a masterful job writing this book. The characters are rich, complex and fully developed. The plot has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. And not everything gets explained or tied up in a neat bow - much like life.
The first two sections of the story are told from a single point of view and the rest of the book alternates...more
The first two sections of the story are told from a single point of view and the rest of the book alternates...more
The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Love hearing about the monkey bread!
Beth is registering the family at the hotel and her younger son has at the same time gone missing. Someone must've taken him while the older child looked on.
The police canvas inside and out and can't locate the child. The things that go through her mind as to what could be happening to Ben...
Her husband Pat Cappadora is beside himself also. She was at the hotel for a reunion.
She is just going through the motions o...more
Love hearing about the monkey bread!
Beth is registering the family at the hotel and her younger son has at the same time gone missing. Someone must've taken him while the older child looked on.
The police canvas inside and out and can't locate the child. The things that go through her mind as to what could be happening to Ben...
Her husband Pat Cappadora is beside himself also. She was at the hotel for a reunion.
She is just going through the motions o...more
Hands down, one of my most favorite books ever. Superbly crafted by Ms. Mitchard, you become enveloped in this family that has the unspeakable happen: their child disappears. The day-to-day devastating depression that the author chronicles the mother going through and the impact of that depression on the rest of the family members indicates to me that this author had to have had some kind of experience with it or very close to first-hand knowledge. It just cannot be made up. Beth was not equippe...more
I read this book after seeing a blurb about the author in a "how to write and sell novels" book that stated she received a $500,000 advance for two books after someone read less than 100 pages of it. I had to see if it was that good, and I do believe it was. The author instantly makes you believe she knows what it is like to have a child kidnapped. The range of emotions and reactions seemed to ring very true. Towards the end, a lot of her lyrical prose started to grate on me, and I felt like the...more
okay, it says here the book was published in 1995. i havent read it until now, so maybe i was like 17 years old late realize there is a book like this.
well, the story focused on a mom with three kids, beth, as she heading for her reunion in a hotel. she brought her three kids along with her, the oldest boy named vincent, the middle dude named ben, and the youngest of all.. i dont remember her name. beth life was going to turned upside down when she left a while to talk to her friends and leaving...more
well, the story focused on a mom with three kids, beth, as she heading for her reunion in a hotel. she brought her three kids along with her, the oldest boy named vincent, the middle dude named ben, and the youngest of all.. i dont remember her name. beth life was going to turned upside down when she left a while to talk to her friends and leaving...more
I did not really care for this one. I can't really pinpoint why. Maybe it was that Beth was shallow and so empty inside and that seemed to be her before Ben was kidnapped. Maybe it was that even though his brother was supposed to watch him and didn't, there was never any real attempt made to tell the brother that it was really NOT his fault. MOM was the adult. MOM could have held on to him while they checked into the hotel. Lord knows I have done it enough with my 3 girls. You just don't sit the...more
I read this book when it was an Oprah selection. Since it takes place in Chicago (I grew up an hour west of there), I could relate to the scenery there. The premise of the story is that a mom, Beth, takes her three children to Chicago for the weekend to attend a high school reunion. While she checks into the hotel, she instructs the children to sit on the bellhops trolley. Of course, what happens next is every parent's worst nightmare: one of the children is missing. The story continues by relat...more
The Deep End of the Ocean is the story of a three-year old boy, Ben, who is kidnapped. His mother, Beth, wanders then in a self-centered haze. Nine years later, however, Ben is found again-this time as Sam Taylor, mowing Beth's lawn.
The real problem for me with this book is that some parts of the first part drag on for far too long. We already know about Beth's main characteristics and flaws as they are demonstrated in the first few chapters. Mitchard goes on too much about this and it can get f...more
The real problem for me with this book is that some parts of the first part drag on for far too long. We already know about Beth's main characteristics and flaws as they are demonstrated in the first few chapters. Mitchard goes on too much about this and it can get f...more
I read this book while living in Madison, Wisconson. The book takes place in Madison and is about the kidnapping of a four year old little boy. I had a four year-old son at the time with a similar name. My first introduction to the book was purely happenstance. I was driving down the road and turned to NPR. It happened to be time for "A Chapter A Day." I listened to the story, probably the first or second chapter as I drove and nearly had to pull off the road for crying so hard. I heard only two...more
The kid is found and he's fine. That's not a spoiler; you can read it on the jacket. However, I had to skip to the second half to see for myself, and I read in other reviews that other people did, too. I really didn't want to be reading a book about a child being kidnapped and killed or abused. And that's not what it was at all, so rest assured.
The first half of the book is about what happens with a family when their middle child, a three-year-old, is kidnapped. The second half is about what hap...more
The first half of the book is about what happens with a family when their middle child, a three-year-old, is kidnapped. The second half is about what hap...more
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed another book by this author and I read somewhere a good review of the sequel to this book. When I got it from the library and saw the Oprah's Book Club stamp on it. I was very wary -- I don't always enjoy Oprah's picks, and find them unusually depressing. And the description of this book fit that mold: A happy family is devastated when their three-year-old boy goes missing. The book delves into what happens to the members of the family, not only the p...more
This was a hard book to read. It was a story of a family after their
three-year-old son disappeared, probable kidnapping. It was a "slow-
moving nightmare for Beth, for her family, for everyone involved in the ultimate testing of the ties that bind people together and the wounds that tear them apart." A review said, "Strangers rarely destroy a
family; it is accomplished internally...or (the family) is spared."
I found, as usual, some good lines: "She tended to embrace pain as a matter of course; Ker...more
three-year-old son disappeared, probable kidnapping. It was a "slow-
moving nightmare for Beth, for her family, for everyone involved in the ultimate testing of the ties that bind people together and the wounds that tear them apart." A review said, "Strangers rarely destroy a
family; it is accomplished internally...or (the family) is spared."
I found, as usual, some good lines: "She tended to embrace pain as a matter of course; Ker...more
I just finished this one and have to admit that I got a little addicted. It was heartbreaking and well written, in my opinion.
I feel silly saying this, because it is fiction, but this seems like a pretty realistic account of how a woman like Beth would respond. I felt both hope for her and frustration. Her negativity and the shell-living-parenting that follows the kidnapping of her son are so frustrating, that I just kept reading faster so I could get her out of my life. However, the fight betw...more
I feel silly saying this, because it is fiction, but this seems like a pretty realistic account of how a woman like Beth would respond. I felt both hope for her and frustration. Her negativity and the shell-living-parenting that follows the kidnapping of her son are so frustrating, that I just kept reading faster so I could get her out of my life. However, the fight betw...more
An absolutely stunning, heartbreaking, and spellbinding read. Very well-written and with painful, true-to-life insights into the thoughts and lives of the characters, The Deep End of the Ocean tells the haunting story of a floundering mother and her two sons, one lost to her on accident, the other lost by her on purpose.
SPOILER ALERT
Ben Cappadora is three years old when his careless mother, Beth, leaves him under the sole care of his seven-year-old brother, Vincent. One moment the hotel lobby is...more
SPOILER ALERT
Ben Cappadora is three years old when his careless mother, Beth, leaves him under the sole care of his seven-year-old brother, Vincent. One moment the hotel lobby is...more
I enjoyed this book. It is a story about a family who lose a child. The Mother, Beth takes the children away and asks her older son who is 7, to watch her younger son who is 3 whilst she takes care of a hotel booking - she is just across the lobby. When she returns, Ben is gone and is nowhere to be found.
The book then follows the family, including extended family as they try to figure out what happened and where Ben has gone. Then, 10 years later Ben re-appears. (not a spoiler, it tells you on...more
The book then follows the family, including extended family as they try to figure out what happened and where Ben has gone. Then, 10 years later Ben re-appears. (not a spoiler, it tells you on...more
Dec 01, 2008
Kelly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone, especially mothers
I was shocked by what this book really ended up being about. I pictured the heartbreaking struggle of a mother who lost her child and what the family went through...and there is a little of that, but then, there is a twist and half the book deals more with how the family relates with each other after the ordeal.
I've read some people who are just completely abhorred by the actions of the mother, but I thought it was very realistic as to how a person in this situation might act. The mother in this...more
I've read some people who are just completely abhorred by the actions of the mother, but I thought it was very realistic as to how a person in this situation might act. The mother in this...more
This is quite possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. It was artistically abysmal and I would not have finished it if it weren't for the library book club I read it for. The characters (particularly the parents) are thin and unlikeable characters. The plot left unpleasantly dangling threads in several places where the author would take us to a location or revelation and then stop talking about it - including a pointless affair that did not contribute to the overall plot in any way. It...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I originally read this book in 1996 and have to admit that I was not all that impressed. I abhor books with spelling errors. This one has not the one forgivable error but NUMEROUS distracting errors. Where did the editing go wrong? I recently reread this book in an attempt to "lighten up" on my criticism and look beyond to the essence of the story.
I realized that this story made me feel a range of emotions from sorrow to compassion to irritation. However, never joy. It also left me feeling that...more
I realized that this story made me feel a range of emotions from sorrow to compassion to irritation. However, never joy. It also left me feeling that...more
It's been a while since I first read this but I read it on a trip to visit my mother, finished it at her house and flung it across the room. I left it behind and she read it and called me to berate me for leaving it for her to read! So count this as TWO negative reviews. The climax happens about halfway through the book and then the next 200 or so pages are padding that you end up hating yourself for reading.
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Although the author obviously has talent, she has wasted little of it on this book about characters with whom audiences do not wish to identify.
The mother in this book is a basket case, completely uncaring about her family, and the reader finds himself unable to sympathize with her over the loss of her son. Most readers will sympathize with her husband instead; he has born the brunt of her problems for years and continues to do so after she loses her son at a class reunion.
I really had problems...more
The mother in this book is a basket case, completely uncaring about her family, and the reader finds himself unable to sympathize with her over the loss of her son. Most readers will sympathize with her husband instead; he has born the brunt of her problems for years and continues to do so after she loses her son at a class reunion.
I really had problems...more
I thought this book was true but apparently it is fiction. It was really good. The mom made me crazy. She was so messed up and a horrible mother but I think she did the best she could with what she was dealt. But I thought she wasn't that great of a mother before she lost her son and even when she got her son back. Anyway, I just can't believe people can write like Mitchard wrote this book. I don't know how people come up with this stuff. I can't explain what I'm trying to say but the way she wr...more
This book is about a kidnapping. It is told from the mother's point of view and the kidnapped child's brother. The characters really weren't that developed (and for me to notice that is saying something). The plot was predictable and I didn't even like the parents in the story, so I wasn't rooting for them. I only finished the book because I was hoping that something great would happen. It didn't.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
it was on my bookshelf forever. i knew i tried to read it multiple times before and got a couple of chapters in only to put it down uninterested. i kept getting the feeling i had read the entire thing through already. perhaps just another version of the same story, written by a different author and published under a different title. and i'm sure i already saw the lifetime adaptation.
I wont drag you through the synopsis of the book, to get that just google it yourself. really just want to put my...more
I wont drag you through the synopsis of the book, to get that just google it yourself. really just want to put my...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oprah's Book Club...: Deep End of the Ocean | 6 | 25 | Apr 25, 2013 11:13pm |
Jacquelyn Mitchard’s first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was named by USA Today as one of the ten most influential books of the past 25 years – second only to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (but second by a long shot, it must be said.)
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film p...more
More about Jacquelyn Mitchard...
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film p...more
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