It's a Tuesday morning in Brooklyn—a perfect September day. Wendy is heading to school, eager to make plans with her best friend, worried abo...
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Jun 03, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
Ahhh, off the chick-lit kick. i really need some variety. so i took out two books in a row about 9/11 (another topic of interest to me) and there were very different.
i liked this book a lot as it was a work of fiction. girl's mother works in the WTC and dies in the attacks. she lives with her step-father and half-brother, but after her mom dies, she goes to live with her dad in california for a while. people that help her heal come in and out of her life. a character i really liked tha More...
i liked this book a lot as it was a work of fiction. girl's mother works in the WTC and dies in the attacks. she lives with her step-father and half-brother, but after her mom dies, she goes to live with her dad in california for a while. people that help her heal come in and out of her life. a character i really liked tha More...
Dec 01, 2010
Susy
rated it:
I've been interested in Joyce Maynard from the early 80's when her syndicated column about the mixed bag of being a writer/mom/wife appeared in the Sacramento Bee. It seemed so clear to me that she was torn between these roles so it was no surprise when I read she'd split up with her spouse & moved to Northern California. Now & again, she'd do a reading at our local book store but I never managed to read any of her novels. And then she appeared in conversation on the Goodreads site and I was
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Sep 27, 2009
Mary
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This is a Young Adults novel, which I didn't realize when I bought it, but I decided to give it a shot--and I'm glad I did. Unlke other books I've read whose main character is a young person--in this case a thirteen-year-old girl--I found Wendy to be entirely believable, and I really sympathized with her struggles and uncertainties. All of the characters were flawed but in normal, easy-to-relate-to ways, and there was an equal ammount of nobility to them. Just like real life! I especially liked
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Oct 20, 2010
Barbara
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On a sparkling September morning, "Grace", the daughter of my dear friend of many years, joyfully boarded an airplane at Logan Airport in Boston. She was anticipating a trip to California before embarking on a new, exciting phase of her life. Her flight never reached its destination. It senselessly, inconceivably, madly struck the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. "Grace" was 32 years old. It was September 11, 2001, the day which deeply affected everyone. But what ab
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Feb 01, 2012
Lisa
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This book is told from the perspective of 13-year-old Wendy, whose mother dies in 9/11. Not only is the narrative voice believable, but the depiction of grief is realistic and extremely well done. In addition to her own mourning, Wendy has a lot to deal with, like figuring out who she is and what she wants. Her journey is heartbreaking yet a testament to the power of the human spirit.
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Jul 20, 2011
Gina
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I thought that I would give this four stars until about two thirds of the way through, when I found myself annoyed by a situation involving a minor chararcter. She had given her son up for adoption and met him and his pregnant fiance for the first time more than 20 years later. The son and his wife are Christians, but are judgemental of his biologic mother when they meet her. I thought that the portrayal of the whole scene was unrealistic. With that said, I thought that the writing was good
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Aug 23, 2011
Jackie
rated it:
A little too long in the tooth story of a young girl's life after her mother is killed on Sep 11, 2001. She lives with her step dad and brother and has only had limited contact with her birth father...her mother never had much good to say about him. He shows up in New York one day about a month after her mothers apparent death and tells her she is going back to California with him. She reluctantly goes and weaves her way through her grief and confusion meeting some interesting folks along the wa
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Nov 12, 2009
Kdevoli
rated it: 
I am really enjoying this book. Even though the protagoniost is only 13, this author has a way of making adolescence resonate with adult readers. She did the same with her previous book that I enyoyed, Labor Day. In this one, the young girl in the center of the story loses her mom on September 11. She has a 4 year old brother as well, and this is the first 9/11 novel I've read that explores the issue from the point of view of the children affected. Very moving and gripping so far.
Update: B More...
Update: B More...
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Sep 19, 2009
Ken
rated it:
Sometimes you go back to the same movie over and over again because you have become very emotionally involved in it, or you need the laughs it gives you, or for some other reason. The same with books, and this is one of them for me. Some laughs here--just when you need them. A huge lot of emotional involvement. This was my sixth reading of The Usual Rules.
Joyce Maynard depicts every character, major or minor, with insight and sensitivity. Descriptions, conversations, and narrati More...
Joyce Maynard depicts every character, major or minor, with insight and sensitivity. Descriptions, conversations, and narrati More...
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Jan 19, 2011
Pepper
rated it:
Another sad book....a little girl who lives in NY. Time frame is 9/11. Mom works at Towers.
I think because I experienced this event (via tv, not personally), I can relate to it so much more and really put the descriptions of happenings to the news reports I saw that day. It's amazing!
I have to put it down every once in awhile when reading it in a classroom--as I don't want to start crying over this little girl's tragedy. But definitely worth reading. My daughter is wanting to More...
I think because I experienced this event (via tv, not personally), I can relate to it so much more and really put the descriptions of happenings to the news reports I saw that day. It's amazing!
I have to put it down every once in awhile when reading it in a classroom--as I don't want to start crying over this little girl's tragedy. But definitely worth reading. My daughter is wanting to More...
Apr 21, 2011
Heidi
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Since I don't read jacket covers, this book struck me like a brick when I realized it was set in Park Slope and deals with the day of and aftermath of a family who loses a member on 9/11/01. Nearly 10 years after the event, I was carried along with the author as she describes the insanity and the ordinary of that day and the days and months that follow. Narrated by a 13 year old girl, who is reading A Diary of Anne Frank in school when the World Trade Centers are struck, she takes us on an amazi
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Jul 31, 2011
Neill
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Wendy's parents have divorced and she lives in New York with her mother, stepfather, and a younger half brother. When her mother disappears in the aftermath of 911 she finds that the usual rules don't seem to apply any more so she moves to California to live with her estranged father. Her father gives her lots of space to find herself - so much so that it borders on neglect yet there is a warm connection there that helps her deal with her feelings while still maintaining a strong connection wi
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Jan 15, 2010
Kerri
rated it:
I read this because it's the same author as "Labor Day" which I LOVED!
This one was good too, but nothing as super-fantastic and near-perfection as "Labor Day".
This is about a 13 year old girl whose mother dies in one of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It's really about the aftermath of that, and how to move on from that and somehow come out with an optimistic attitude about the world after such a devastating tragedy.
I wish this rating thing had 1/2 More...
This one was good too, but nothing as super-fantastic and near-perfection as "Labor Day".
This is about a 13 year old girl whose mother dies in one of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It's really about the aftermath of that, and how to move on from that and somehow come out with an optimistic attitude about the world after such a devastating tragedy.
I wish this rating thing had 1/2 More...
Nov 22, 2011
Joan Snodgrass
rated it:
Because my eyes keep flooding with tears I've been unable to finish the book at one sitting. What an accurate picture of the early stages of grief in both teenager and spouse. The book could have been written about any sudden death situation - I think she didn't need to tie it to 9/11 to make the same observations about Wendy's reactions to people and triggers.
Since It's an Ill Wind, Indeed...deals with the same issues, but without 9/11, I can barely wait to find out how Wendy manag More...
Since It's an Ill Wind, Indeed...deals with the same issues, but without 9/11, I can barely wait to find out how Wendy manag More...
Feb 10, 2012
Diana
rated it:
I have never read a book was that amazing from the introduction to the acknowledgments. I remember where I was on September 11, 2001... I was walking out of my dorm, on my way to classes and I noticed people all around me were either crying or screaming looking at the television. I live in the South so even though we were in no immediate threat of danger, the air felt tense and still. I remember someone calling my cell phone saying they bombed the towers and I was like... what towers? I was so c
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Jun 20, 2011
Kim
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This book was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
On 9/11, Wendy’s mother was at her job on the 86th floor of one of the World Trade Centers. Wendy, who is 13-years-old, along with her step-father and little brother, can only hold out hope that her mother will be found. As time goes by, it becomes apparent that this will not be the case.
The story is told through Wendy’s eyes and it is very heartbreaking to read of the emotions she goes through. Wendy adores her little b More...
On 9/11, Wendy’s mother was at her job on the 86th floor of one of the World Trade Centers. Wendy, who is 13-years-old, along with her step-father and little brother, can only hold out hope that her mother will be found. As time goes by, it becomes apparent that this will not be the case.
The story is told through Wendy’s eyes and it is very heartbreaking to read of the emotions she goes through. Wendy adores her little b More...
May 27, 2011
Jan
rated it:
Like most Americans, I remembrt where I was on 9/11 and during the aftermath that followed. I shed many tears and said prayers for the victims and their families, the survivors. While I may have wondered, over the weeks and months that followed, how the survivors were coping, the feelings were absract, in general, relating to no one in particular. Maynard's story of Wendy and her family struck such a serve. My heart just broke for this child and her family. I find it difficult to believe these c
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Apr 28, 2008
Brandi
rated it:
This book was pretty depressing and hard to cope with sometimes. My heart broke for the family multiple times and it was very hard to finish. In the end I was glad I did, but be warned, it was a tough read.
It's about a family (mom, dad, sister, and brother) whose lives were turned upside down on September 11th. The story is told from the perspective of 13 year old Wendy, who's struggling to come to terms with her teenage years. Her parents were divorced when she was younger and her m More...
It's about a family (mom, dad, sister, and brother) whose lives were turned upside down on September 11th. The story is told from the perspective of 13 year old Wendy, who's struggling to come to terms with her teenage years. Her parents were divorced when she was younger and her m More...
Feb 17, 2008
Mike
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 12, 2009
Christina
rated it:
Once I got used to the lack of quotation marks, I liked this book. The first part, which focused on thirteen year-old Wendy's grief over the loss of her mother in the World Trade Center on September 11, drew me in immediately. I especially liked the chapter in which she finds herself attending the funeral of a firefighter she didn't even know. The second part, in which Wendy abandons her life in New York to live in California with her biological father, didn't quite measure up to the first.
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Aug 22, 2010
Tara
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The beginning of the book I found it very hard to connect with the main character, Wendy. She had lost her mom on 911 and was reeling from her loss, I could not understand her recklessness. As I kept reading I began to fall in love with this 13 year-old child who believed in the good of everyone. I just sat and read the last 100 pages crying and praying for this young girl. She is an amazing character and really made the book for me. I think she will stick with me for a while.
Nov 07, 2009
Ashe
rated it:
I didn't expect to like this book, but I did. While I read it a long time ago, it's always stuck with me as one that I liked. It tells the story of a girl living with her mother and step-father. After her mother dies in the 9/11 attacks, she moves to live with her biological father and befriends people she meets while she's there. One thing about the book that caught me off guard is the lack of parentheses... sometimes you can't tell who's saying what. Either way, it's still worth reading.
Sep 03, 2009
Nian
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It's very reminiscent of Oskar Shell, but still beautiful and touching. I seriously did cry a few times whilst reading it; particularly the flashbacks that concerned her mother, although it's hard to imagine someone seemingly perfect as her. Obviously, the mother and daughter had fights, but it seemed like the mother always redeemed herself at the last minute. Now, juggling from my experiences with my mom, I doubt that's the case: she can't make up for every fight we had.
Jan 19, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
Outstanding. This is the only fiction novel I know of that has dared to tackle the issue of the September 11 attacks. Joyce Maynard has written a provacotive and surprisingly uplifting story of a thirteen-year-old girl who loses her mother on that awful day. The aftermath of her mother's death leads to chain of events that both strengthens and changes her life forever. Not only does this novel do the victims and their families justice it ranks high among the classic coming of age stories. Highly
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Jan 28, 2012
Toni
rated it:
Joyce Maynard has written a lovely story of the aftermath of that horrible event in September 2001 that changed the world forever. Using a young teenage girl whose mother was lost in one of the towers, the author effectively offers a glimpse of how a family copes and survives a tragedy beyond comprehension. She tells us of the light that remains after a season of darkness and the spring that follows even the coldest kind of winter.
Sep 26, 2010
Cherie
rated it:
This book was gripping. My son has been through two tragedies this year where a child died. I feel at a loss as to how to help him, it's so painful. Seeing how this 13 year old girl and her interesting family dealt with the loss of their mother/wife in the World Trade Center on September 11, helped me see how you can, with time, get through a life changing event. It is hopeful, I loved it.
Oct 20, 2009
I liked this book... We read it in my 9th grade English class... I didn't like the end... I wish we knew what Josh thought... I also didn't like that they didn't use person first language... That made me upset...
I thought it had a good meaning... and I liked the characters... I liked how they were so different... but they all meant the same thing to Wendy... She was always looking at a mother-child relationship... I also liked where she ended up... again, I wish that we knew how Josh felt... I
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Jun 01, 2011
Kathie
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This was the first novel I've read based on 9/11, and it's told in the voice of a 13-year-old girl whose Mother leaves for work that morning (after an argument) and never comes home. While movies often canmake me cry, I don't often cry when reading a book, but this one did! It shows her grief at its most raw stage, and it shows the slow and gradual healing, and how different healing is for everyone. I definitely recommend . . .
May 23, 2011
Amy
rated it:
Joyce Maynard is a compelling author, and she's right on the mark with this one. Great characters (even though they are somewhat stereoypes) deal with the death of a loved one who was working in the Twin Towers on 9/11. Maynard was in NYC that day & her descriptions are chillingly real. Highly recommend!
Mar 27, 2011
Kellen
rated it:
Excellent!!, almost finished on day 2! It was very good, although the ending left me a little flat. What I liked most about the book were the lifelike accuracy of the dynamics of the relationships. Especially the relationship of the teenage girl with her little brother. It was very sweet.
