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Feb 11, 2008

Robert rated it:

Tawni O'Dell, Back Roads (Viking, 2000)

I find the whole thing incredibly amusing.

Had a man written this book, word for word, the character of Harley Altmeyer would no doubt be blazoned on the front as "an unstoppable sociopath about to explode" (fill in the correct number of exclamation points, depending on era and author). Instead, the back cover blurb calls him "wonderfully touching." Oh, please.

Thank heaven Tawni O'Dell is a much better writer More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2008

Dan rated it:

I have to admit that the blurb is decieving this time. From the blurb, you wouldnt be able to tell how great the book is without at least reading the first chapter, it just pulls you in and you'll wanna find out more. Back Roads is about a 19 year old boy named Harley Altmyer who has to take care of his three younger sisters after their caring mom has been sent to jail for killing their abusive father. The book is not about how he's survivng in life though, but about love as well, as a key point More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 23, 2008

Bev rated it:

I'm having a hard time rating this book. It's incredibly dark and morose, but the author does an excellent job taking us into the head of a 19-year-old small town boy who has been dealt an extremely tough hand--taking care of three sisters after his mother has murdered his father. I really felt for Harley, whose family life was so compromised that his attempts to rise above it were doomed from the start. Nevertheless, I had hopes that Harley could somehow survive, perhaps get away and start a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Sammy rated it:

Let's just say one thing: this is one fucked up family. If you decide to read this book, brace yourself, seriously, the Altmyer's are fucked up. But for some reason, you still like them.

There's so much that happens in this story that keeps you reading I can't say much without giving it away. For a first novel O'Dell does an extremely good job. Her writing is raw and real which helps add to the mood and characters of the book.

One thing I liked about O'Dell's style was that More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 20, 2008

Kathy rated it:

This is my take on Oprah books: really bad things happen to people who are already suffering from other bad things and the end is never a happy one. In fact, they're often icky endings.

Woody loaned me Back Roads and I read through it in one sick day last week. The story is told from the point of view of Harley, a 19 year old boy, whose Mother is in prison for killing his Father. Harley's left with raising his three younger sisters.

There's abuse, murder, incest, adul More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2008

Kelly rated it:

dark. darkdarkdarkdarkdark. it's the kind of book that...when you read it...you can hear the dripdrop of a lonely limestained faucet in the background. you won't love the protagonist...but you can't hate him, either. i can't explain exactly why I am giving this book 4 stars...other than to say that it was good enough to make me remember the protagonist...make me think about him after I turned the last page. I can't ask for much more...why isn't it a 5 star'er? well, I'm just an amateur. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 17, 2008

Dennis rated it:

After reading so many women comment about men writing in women's voices, it's now time to admit that women writing as men can completely miss the boat. Harley didn't sound like any guy I knew, nor grew up nor WAS in my life. His sentiments rang completely hollow for me; rather he sounded more like how a woman would like a teenage boy to be. The most interesting character, Misty, went almost completely voiceless and the ending was laughable, as was most of the book. easily the worst of Oprah' More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

bobbygw rated it:

My eldest sister recommended this to me, and I was grabbed by her reference to The Catcher in the Rye, as she felt that Harley Altmyer, the 19-year-old who narrates the story in Back Roads, reminded her a lot of 17-year-old Holden Caulfield's in Salinger's novel. Having now read Back Roads, I could understand why she, and others, have made this connection: after all, both characters share a sense of being cut-off, feeling awkward, self-conscious and isolated; both feel frustration and a deep-fel More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Jeffrey rated it:

I'm conflicted. The book was a page turner. Tawni O'Dell has a fine writing style, great sense of plot development and character construction, for the most part. She does a great job of creating the mental world of a troubled, young adult and his experience of sexuality. Has an interviewer ever asked her how she developed this skill? Were it not for some serious flaws I would have given it a five star review. I like the metaphor of Callie Mercer stripping his father' coat off of Harley befo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 05, 2011

Chip rated it:

I had a hard time believing that Harley would continue to go to see the therapist while working two jobs and not having a dime to spare... not that the therapy was costing anything except time, but it didn't add up other than as a plot device to explain that he was nuts (in case it escaped the reader's attention).

The real story should have been told from Amber's point of view. There were complex issues between Amber, Misty and their mother that Harley would never understand, and tha More...

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Jun 13, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I kind of feel like this book should have a big R rating on the front or some kind of a warning about the subject matter. I will not be recommending this book to my mother since I don't want to imagine her reading all those more often than not weird sex scenes. I'm still horrified by the time she suggested we go and watch the Sex & the City movie together.

Having said that, my faith in Oprah Book Club picks has been restored! I used to love her book club picks and then she has a string More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 08, 2010

karen rated it:

i have developed a real taste for literature from this region lately. and that might be the problem; why i didn't love this book the way danaaaaa does. all of the other books i have read (and i am using the term "region" pretty loosely to encompass mostly appalachia, but blurring around the edges of appalachia-proper a little) have followed a pretty consistent speech pattern and tone that this one strays from. am i being sexist to point out that this is the only woman i have read writi More...

36 comments like (30 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Sherrie rated it:

I really liked reading this book. But it ended totally different than what I was expecting. Actually the ending was a shocker. But I can't tell about that, it would ruin the surprise. Harley is the typical teenager, except he's not in a typical setting. Instead of girls, hanging out and thinking about college, Harley is working 2 jobs and taking care of his 3 sisters. His one big hang up is he's still a virgin at 19. He's made several attempts to loose his virginity. But something always goes wr More...

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Jun 25, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

An Oprah book club pick! Yes, even books down here advert that fact. I quite enjoyed this book until the end. I like good books about siblings that kind of hate each other, but underneath, get a long. Until the end, in this book. The overview, is a family with 4 kids, the mother is in jail for shooting her husband because he beats the kids. It is told from the point of view of the oldest child, a son. He was written very well, very real and I always appreciate that. He is now raising his younger More...

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Jan 23, 2011

Rachel rated it:

This was my first time reading an Oprah selection and I was disappointed. While it is a story that moved easily along, integrating me into the lives of the characters, I felt repulsed by the description of certain events in the book. To call it "gritty" doesn't quite capture how gross certain scene descriptions can be. And in those moments, I could no longer believe in the characters or the events in their lives. I was intrigued by the psychology of Harley, and the unfortunate circ More...

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Feb 18, 2010

Aimee rated it:

I particularly like this book. It's that story of this teenage boy left to care for his 3 sisters after the tragic death of his father and his mother arrested for the crime. He could have entrusted them to the care of social welfare however he wanted to prove to himself he could provide for them. He juggled two jobs and caring for the sisters in between including amber who was so impossible to deal with. Then harbored a secret passion to his neighbor, a married woman with a child. Then at the e More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 17, 2009

Robin rated it:

What I want most to say about this book is that is not only a page-turner but transcendent. I can't say that - it is a page turner, and very good. But it is not transcendent. I can say that I highly recommend it. The characters will break your heart, and ultimately the protagonist Harley does the best he can with really crappy circumstances and a truly bad hand. The humor is wonderful, but will not be for everyone - O'Dell must be complimented in finding laugh aloud moments in mental illness, fa More...

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May 17, 2011

Jessi rated it:

I have said it before and I will say it again "damn these first time bitches!" Tawni O'Dell wrote one hell of a story as her first novel,way to go!

I would recommend this to anyone, which normally with a story this dark I would be reluctant or would warn about the subject matter,but this is so well done.
Harley is a 19 year old boy, who has to take care of his three younger sisters,Amber,Misty and Jody, after their mother has been sent to jail for killing their abusive More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Shyla rated it:

This is a book about Harley, a 19 year old guy who has fallen on some hard times. Well, that might be an understatement he's barley making it, emotionally or financially. With his dad dead and his mom in prison for the murder it's up to him to keep his family together and take care of his three little sisters. Working two jobs and dealing with three girls leaves him wiht no life and little pleasure, until he meets an older woman whose relationship with him changes the course of his life for bett More...

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Apr 06, 2009

Louise rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have a great deal of sympathy for poor Harley, the main character in this book.

From the back cover:

"Harley Altmyer, the heartbreaking, hilarious, and lovable hero of Tawni O'Dell's riveting debut novel, has more on his shoulders than most guys his age. With his father dead and his mother in jail for the murder, Harley is trapped by his responsibilities, juggling two low-paying jobs and the care of his three younger sisters. Hi More...

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Apr 24, 2011

bobbygw rated it:

My eldest sister recommended this to me, and I was grabbed by her reference to The Catcher in the Rye, as she felt that Harley Altmyer, the 19-year-old who narrates the story in Back Roads, reminded her a lot of 17-year-old Holden Caulfield's in Salinger's novel. Having now read Back Roads, I could understand why she, and others, have made this connection: after all, both characters share a sense of being cut-off, feeling awkward, self-conscious and isolated; both feel frustration and a deep-fel More...

0 comments like

Mar 23, 2010

Linda rated it:

This book started out pretty fast, and I enjoyed the author's storytelling technique. However the unrelenting bleakness of the story just wore me down. One of the reviews on the cover said : "A page turner, gritty...funny,... sexy,. It was a definite page turner, but it was like watching a train wreck and not being able to turn away. It was gritty enough for me to feel like I needed to bathe after reading it. I do not find anything funny or sexy about murder, sexual and physical abuse, not More...

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Mar 25, 2011

Crystal rated it:

This book was like surrendering to the horrific yet mesmerizing display of watching a train derail, crash and explode. The sheer intensity of its devastation is almost unbearable yet it's impossible to look away. Just when you think this story can't get any sadder, it unapologetically does. But it does so in a way that respectfully reveals the authentic underbelly of its characters. This book isn't a downer just for the sake of being a depressive voyeuristic foray into the lives of those les More...

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Sep 04, 2011

Jonelle rated it:

"Back Road's" author, Tawni O'Dell, is the closing speaker at this year's Pa Library Association conference; so I wanted to read one of her books before hearing her speak. "Back Roads" is also one of the few Oprah books that I've actually read...and while I expected it to be about a very dysfunctional family, it was also more of a page turner than I had expected. Set in rural Pennsylvania coal country, it tells the story of a 19-year-old boy who is left to care for his thre More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Andrea rated it:

My best friend gave me this book for Christmas. What was she thinking. This was one of the saddest, most disturbing books I have read. I loved it. The main character was a 19 year old boy and he was so torn between wanting to be 19, or a responsible parent figure for his sisters. The setting was a town without a future or a way out to a better life. And even stolen pleasures with a neighbor didn't come without a price. The narrative was intriguing and the main character someone you could care ab More...

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Jul 23, 2009

Carolyn rated it:

I loved this book and thought the way Tawni O'Dell wove her story was not only eye-opening into a world not known by most of us. I didn't want to put the book down once I began to read. I felt as if I knew her characters and had a deep understanding of them and the different roles their lives played in the family unit. My heart went out to all of the characters but I had a soft spot for Harley. The truth might have made things easier on everyone; but sometimes we hold the truth back thinking More...

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Jul 11, 2011

Steph rated it:

I read Back Roard years ago when it was first released and remember being quite shaken by this frighteningly beautiful tale. I spotted it at a yard sale and picked up this little gem for a quarter, and immediately reimmersed myself into the backwoods world O'Dell created. I finished it in a little over a day. Back Roads will (hopefully) disturb you, but its such a powerful book to read. O'Dell provides a deep level of complexity and "humanness" to characters which many of us would dism More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Christina rated it:

Ugh! I swear, this will be my last ever Oprah Book Club book! Are ANY of these upbeat in any way? The blurb on this thing describes it as "fast, furious & funny" FUNNY?! It's horrible! Depressing & twisted the whole way. Not one HINT of a "yay, I crawled out of this mess" ending. Every character is hopeless & doomed from beginning to end. WHY is this considered GOOD literature? I'm more disturbed that the author carried this around in her head! Ok, I do admit is was a fast an More...

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Sep 06, 2011

Beth rated it:

I don't remember why I got this book, I think I just found it on Amazon. It was a very lucky find. This is one of the best books I've read in a long while. It is about a 19 year old boy who is the head of the household after his mother is imprisoned for life for murdering his father. This kid, Harley, is the provider for his 3 younger sisters and struggles to maintain their lives.
It is a very interesting and sad story and the reader feels nothing but sympathy for this poor kid and his whac More...

1 comment like

Nov 24, 2010

Malynda rated it:

At first, I was just going to rate Back Roads and not even type a review, because I really didn’t know what to say about this book. I still am unsure of what to say. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. It’s strange and a little crazy, which was sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. It’s basically about a nineteen year old boy named Harley Altmyer who grew up in an abusive household. His father use to beat him and two of his younger sisters until his mother killed the father. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)