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Jul 12, 2008

Allison rated it:

I would run to the train after work just so I can sit down and read this book, and I was so sad when it ended. A little girl raised by wolves is rescued in a small town, and she changes people's lives as she adapts to her new world. Really, really good story!!

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Mar 01, 2009

Linda rated it:

This was an excellent book. The story was sad, about a young girl who was kidnapped and taken deep into the woods. How she survived, and what happens to her when she re-enters society. Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite Authors....this is one of her best.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

I am really liking Kirsten Hannah! After reading Firefly Lane, my mom reccomended this book. It was good, the ending was the best part in that it made me cry and cry. I love when a book; someone's written thoughts; makes you so moved, that you laugh, cry, get mad at a character.

I do have to say at times, the characters did and said things that didn't feel in sync with the character development. I was very pleased with how Alice's character came out though. I did hope for a little mo More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2010

Janelle rated it:

Wonderful! A surprising tale of a little girl found alone, an ostracized child psychologist who comes home to help her, the homecoming-queen-turned-cop sister, the flirtatious and wildly handsome doctor who has lost a lot in his past and a quirky town who stands by them all amidst a nationwide media frenzy. Everyone wants to know more about this little girl and the renowned-turned-shunned (and misunderstood) physchologist who is committed to helping her.

This story is filled with hea More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Susan rated it:

Ultimately an absorbing, touching, heartwarming story.

Having read three of Kristin Hannah's books, I am starting to get the impression that story openings aren't her strong point. As in the other books I've read by her, I had trouble getting into the characters and the story, but once the plot got rolling, I was hooked.

Hannah has the gift of engaging your emotions without making you feel manipulated. I think she pulls this off by creating characters that are true to thei More...

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Oct 06, 2011

Jennefer rated it:

First of all let me start by saying I am a HUGE fan of Hannah. I am on a mission to read every single book written by this fabulous author!! This was a great read and I highly recommend it.

The novel introduces sisters Ellie Barton and Julia Cates who are extremely different individuals. Julia is a brilliant, dedicated, work-obsessed child psychologist in Los Angeles. Ellie is beautiful and confidant plus she was the homecoming queen in her day. Ellie is now the chief of police a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 11, 2011

Karen & Gerard rated it:

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah is a fascinating and heartwarming read about two sisters who help a little missing girl that doesn't talk who just showed up in the small town of Rain Valley up in a tree with a wolf pup. Julia is a psychiatrist whose reputation is shot and has lost her clients and her confidence because of it but who returns to her home town when her sister, Ellie-the chief of police, calls her for help with the "wolf girl."

I liked this book very much. I was More...

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Apr 14, 2011

Beccalarge rated it:

Ok, I am sure it seems that I am a little obsessed with Kristin Hannah lately, but it is actually my mom who is obsessed! She keeps buying and reading Hannah novels and them passes them to me when she is done. To be honest, I was growing really tired of Hannah. I almost passed on this book, thinking that I needed a break from these types of novels, especially since I did not love the last couple I have read. However, I loved this book. It is very different, and not just from other Hannah no More...

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Jun 03, 2010

Karen rated it:

When this book was recommended to me, I was anxious to get it and start reading! I must admit, that for me, this book certainly didn't start out as a 4-star book. The writing was a bit simple and trite. I didn't know much about the plot before I picked this up and hadn't read any of the other reviews--I usually don't, so I am not predisposed prior to reading a book. As I read through it, it built momentum. Initially, I remember wondering how this book could've received 4 stars with this simple a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2010

Mimi rated it:

This book deals with a lot of interesting or thought provoking topics: responsibility of psychologists, love after divorce, second chances, going home, parenting, "wild child" (as in a child raised outside of society rather than a hippie or something), kidnapping, media, dangers of ignorant judgment, drunk driving, rights of biological parenting, etc. Yes, it covered quite a spectrum.

I thought most of the writing was very good. One description kind of threw me—when it said th More...

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Mar 23, 2010

Ns rated it:

Magic Hour is a riveting read with much emotional consciousness on the human nature and condition. The most complex ideas and understanding of behavior, self-expression and connection embodies "Alice" who expresses emotions in the most primal, instinctive and limited way possible.

Alice is the mysterious young girl who appears unexpectedly in the town of Rain Valley without an identity and an unknown history. Immediately it is clear she is not simply an ordinary girl; she a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 06, 2010

Stacy rated it:

Girl walked out of the woods and climbed into a tree, with a wolf pup in her arms. Just in time. She came out to save herself and those who vowed to help her.

Dr. Julia Gates, a child psychiatrist, released from a public-career damaging lawsuit. Ellie, the older sister a small town police chief whose biggest job is to provide rides home to drunk drivers. It's in her town where the unknown wild-child walks out of the woods, dirty, along and completely silent.

Ellie calls f More...

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Mar 03, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I actually wanted to read Firefly Lane by the same author, but this one was easier to find, and it got pretty good reviews as well, so I started with this one.

Julia is an eminent child psychiatrist, but she's going through a tough time now. One of her previous patients went psycho, and shot and killed a few other children. Julia was being sued, because the grieving parents said that she should have been able to tell that her patient was undergoing such trauma and was dangerous to the More...

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Aug 03, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Emotionally gripping story of a disgraced psychiatrist and a girl found in the woods. I was surprised how much I liked this and how attached to the characters I became. It is somewhat melodramatic and no work of high literature but the writing is solid and steadfastly avoids cheese in most areas that would normally be cheese-laden.

The setting is gorgeous and well-told (think Forks but written before the vampire invasion). It gives a haunting, dreary quality to the book that fits with More...

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Dec 27, 2010

Stacy rated it:

I'm a huge Kristin Hannah fan, i think a large part has to do with her characters and the relationships that you as the reader develops with them. I loved this book! I couldn't put it down, and fell inlove with the story right away. A young girl who is raised be wolves after being kidnapped, turns up in a small town one day. Luckily, the chief of polices sister is a famed psychologist. The relationship that develops between Alice and Julia had me from the beginning. How Julia thought she was hel More...

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May 02, 2010

Teresa in Ohio rated it:

I was just recently introduced to this author with Angel Falls: A Novelbut knew I needed to read more books by this author. I started this book Saturday morning and thanks to Nature classes, band reherseal and a long movie, I finished Saturday evening. Dr Julia Cates is a disgraced doctor recovering from a possible lawsuit and permament damage to her career. Alice is a traumatized child who wonders into her sister's town and turns their lives upside down. While Julia protects Alice and works wit More...

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Aug 20, 2009

Shyla rated it:

Magic Hour is the third book by this author that I have read. I have noticed the author, Kristen Hannah, really focuses her books on the dynamics of the releionships between the characters. Luckily, there is also usually other exciting things happening. In Magic Hour Dr. Julia Cates, a child phycologist, is faced with a major tragedy with one of her patients that jeopardizes her career and reputation as one of the best. Meanwhile back in her hometown her sister who is the chief of police of a ti More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 08, 2011

Harmonybites rated it:

Given the reviews I seem to be very much in the minority, but I thought this was a wretchedly written book. It had an interesting premise. Two sisters in small-town Washington state, a child psychiatrist and the town's police chief, try to help a six-year-old feral child. My problem is that from the start the book took an overly melodramatic tone as it related Doctor Julia Cates facing a decision in a lawsuit about a tragedy involving a patient of hers. Her sister, Ellie Barton, is an incongruou More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 09, 2011

Kelly rated it:

For the first half of this book, I thought I had missed the boat on this one because I wasn't feeling the love that my friends who had read this had for the novel. I enjoyed the second half of the book more. The plot is multidimensional with damaged people - sisters still competing who have troubled careers, a doctor hiding from his past in rural Washington, a feral girl with internal and external battle scars, and minor characters with eating and weight issues and bad romances.

What More...

4 comments like

Oct 08, 2010

Sandy rated it:

Spoilers in review.

This is not the kind of book I would have picked myself. It was a title that was suggested as the first read for our online book club. And what's the point of a book club if you don't read something out of your comfort zone?

Honestly the first chapter or two were pretty "dry" and a little difficult to get through. But all books require some amount of character development I just had a hard time choking through the obviousness of this book's devel More...

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Feb 28, 2010

Sally rated it:

Never before have I read a story like this. Hannah has a way of blending the normal and not so normal in such a believable way, that you almost start to look at life a little differently. She is another author who sees the beauty a "broken" person and is an artist at putting them back together again.

If only this book would have been about 50 to 100 pages less, it would have been an easy 5 star rating for me.

Not that I didn't love it, because I did! But I More...

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May 26, 2009

Peggy rated it:

This was a very good book. I have read other books by Kristin Hannah and really enjoyed them.

JUlia Cates is a big city child psychiatrist and her sister, Ellie is a small town police chief. Julia comes home after an incident with a teenage patient, to settle her life. Just as she arrives home and meets her sister, there is an urgent call in the small town. A strange child is up a tree. This is a "wild child",accompanied by a wolf cub.

After capturing the c More...

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May 30, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

I've been looking for a new non-paranormal author to follow, something for grown-ups but not just romance. I noticed a shelf full of Kristin Hannah, an author I had not heard of before, at my library. I'm really glad that I picked her up.
Magic Hour was a great read. The story was interesting and complicated, but not so complicated that reading it stressed me out (I needed something a little lighter than what I've been reading.) The main character, Julia, was really struggling to not give i More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Erin Olsen rated it:

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book once I realized what it was about. It could have been completely unbelievable & hokey given the subject, but it was NOT even slightly. It was full of LOVE, amazing characters, life lessons. Everything you expect from Kristin Hannah & more!

Alice's transformation is one I won't soon forget. Hannah did such an amazing job with her character development that I have a clear picture of this precious little girl in my mind & felt like I was More...

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Oct 09, 2010

Clime rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 03, 2010

Kris rated it:

I'm always a little hesitant about an author that is new to me. With Kristin Hannah, and The Magic Hour, I'm glad I chose this one! This is a wonderful book. Julia, a psychiatrist, has lost a teen with major problems, and is blamed for the death of the girl, and others. Drained and wounded by the press and her own guilt, she is called back to her home town. There, her sister Ellie is a cop, in a small town with not too much going on. Ellie finds a wild little girl, with a wolf pup, in a tree, an More...

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Apr 06, 2010

Katie rated it:

What an incredible story! The plot is set in the rainy Pacific Northwest in a small town in which two sisters grew up but never quite knew each other. The eldest, and town beauty queen became the chief police while the brainy youngest went on to become a well-known child psychologist. A chain of events brings Julia they psychologist home to help older Ellie with a lost child they find in the woods who appears to have been raised by wolves.

I lost myself in this book and couldn't More...

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Feb 03, 2012

Dianne rated it:

This made me laugh, cry and not want to put it down! The story was heart-wrenching and somewhat unbelievable at times, but I loved it.

I refuse to let myself read on my iPad during my son's games (only during practices), but I found myself sneaking out my iPhone (I LOVE Kindle) during one my boy's games and I seriously got busted by my other two boys and had to recommit to being the better cheerleading mom that I signed up to be! Truthfully...I couldn't help myself! I really liked this More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

Was it just OK or did I like it? I guess I liked it OK - is that 2 stars or 3? I don't know. I'll say 3.

The main plot is interesting enough. I wanted to follow the story of Alice enough to get me through the book. However, I was not super impressed with Kristin Hannah's writing. Much of the dialog was corny. It reminded me of a low-budget movie on the Lifetime network. The "romantic" scenes involving the adult characters seemed out-of-place and unnecessary to the sto More...

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Feb 01, 2011

Nanci rated it:

A lovely read that shows the power of childhood. Two sisters --Ellie is very comfortable in the small town they grew up in and the second sister Julia, the awkward child who couldn't wait to leave, grew up to become a rising star in child psychiatry.

However, a string of events bring Dr.Julia Cates back to Rain Valley, WA
an explosive suit naming Julia as the cause for a teen shooting gone bad
a strange, mute child appears in town one day and police chief sister Ellie needs a e More...

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