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Thank You for All Things
by
Sandra Kring
At twelve, Lucy Marie McGowan already knows she’ll be a psychologist when she grows up. And her quirky and conflicted family provides plenty of opportunity for her to practice her calling. Now Lucy, her “profoundly gifted” twin brother, Milo, her commitment-phobic mother, and her New Age grandmother are leaving Chicago for Timber Falls, Wisconsin, to care for her dying gra...more
Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages
Published
September 30th 2008
by Bantam Discovery
(first published January 1st 2008)
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Kind of an Oprah book - incredibly bright kids and depressed mother find love & redemption while watching over dying asshole grandpa. But the narrator was fresh & funny and I did stick with it. A bit too longwinded, and I don't think anyone names anyone Mitzi anymore - even in Wisconsin.
I really like this author. Each of her books is told from the vantage point of a child who is real and wise and innocent and suffering because of choices those who love her have made. Lucy is the main character in this one and the thing I love about her the most is that she isn't afraid to feel deeply both the high's and low's of life.
i LOVE sandra kring. i LOVE this book. oh my... what a great read! i tho't her other books were good, well this one does NOT disappoint! go get it RIGHT NOW and read it! i love lucy. if nothing else it teaches you a lesson, you might want to know something in the worst way and then when you find it out.. well you just might wonder why.
oh a great read
(kindle'd- for 4.99)
oh a great read
(kindle'd- for 4.99)
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I liked the book okay while I was reading it. The suspense of finding out about Lucy's father kept me going. But once I finished it, I realized that I really didn't care for it. The characters are all pretty 2 dimensional, each being defined by one or two traits. I flat out hated the mother, who was so wrapped up in her own drama that she couldn't tend to her children. Her method of mothering seems to be telling her kids to go study or grounding them. Whenever Lucy does something that is clearly...more
I fell in love with Sandra Kring's first book: The Book of Bright Ideas last month. In fact, I loved it so much, I followed it up with her second book, Carry Me Home which I also enjoyed. Her third and most recent book, Thank You For All Things was also a hit with me.
This story has an eleven year old narrator who was great; her name is Lucy McGowan. Lucy and her brother Milo are twins. They are both gifted with genius level IQs, although brother Milo has Lucy beat by 30+ points. Milo...more
This story has an eleven year old narrator who was great; her name is Lucy McGowan. Lucy and her brother Milo are twins. They are both gifted with genius level IQs, although brother Milo has Lucy beat by 30+ points. Milo...more
Sandra Kring’s third novel, “Thank You For All Things,” holds within its pages themes and voices I love to read about: family, sacrifice, love, surprise, forgiveness, home, belonging, and relationships—particularly between mothers and daughters and fathers and daughters. Kring’s newest novel also has themes that are painful: family violence, human death and death of a dream, and betrayal. Kring doesn’t whitewash the secret dark side of family; however, she doesn’t grab readers by the throat with...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Kring’s book explores life through the eyes of eleven-year-old Lucy McGowan. Lucy’s conflicted family is called to Wisconsin to care for her ailing grandfather. Lucy desperately wants to understand why her mother withdraws from love, hates her childhood home, and is fiercely protective of Lucy and her twin brother, Milo. Lucy believes that if she can learn her family’s secrets, she will figure out how to begin the emotional healing her family desperately needs. As Lucy discovers more about h...more
I found myself LOL throughout the book right down to the last few chapters and pages of the book. From the minute I began to read I was hooked trying to figure out how the title related with the story line. As the story continued and as I continued to read, I soon forgot about figuring out the title and then focused my thoughts on figuring out the ultimate quest of the main character--Lucy who strived to find the answer to the ultimate question: "Whose my father?"
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Thank You for All Things is a well-written book, with a wise-beyond-her-years eleven-year-old narrator, Lucy. Lucy really wants to learn about her history: who was her father, who was her grandfather, and why won't her mom tell her anything about either of these men? When said grandfather is dying, she and her family take a road-trip to Mom's hometown to care for him. They say you can't go home again and as Lucy watches her mom struggle with the grandfather Lucy's never known, she comes to un...more
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I was not overly-impressed with this book. The story is told by an eleven year old girl who has an above average IQ. Through the story she learns a lot about how to deal with disappointments as she tries to figure out the background of her broken family. There are some endearing moments, but overall the characters are not very believable. The main character learns a lot about her family through secretly reading her mom's diary entries. This feels like cheating - not only does it feel wrong ...more
Overall, the story was good and I liked the main character, even if some of her qualities were unrealistic. There were a few mistakes that shouldn't have made it past revision, such as a character going to the kitchen but then being introduced as being on the couch in the living room. Nothing that affected the plot, though. Like many others, I thought the mom's diaries were far too detailed and descriptive, as well as an easy plot device. You could make the argument that she was an author, so he...more
We read this in my book club. I might have picked it up in a book store; the premise was interesting enough. But within the first few pages, I was having major problems with the book. The set up to get Lucy, Milo and Tess off to live with Sam was an easy out. Likewise, I felt like making the twins so smart was the only way the story would work so that's why Ms. Kring chose to do that. I found the journals as an easy out as well--Tess just happens to be writing about the exact information Lu...more
This is a great book. I really enjoyed the relationship between the twins, Lucy and Milo. Kring did a fabulous job of of developing Lucy's character. Her narrative was wonderful and touching -- full of the kinds of emotions that a young girl would feel. And Milo was such a genius-nerd that he made me laugh. The grandmother (Oma) with all her silly metaphysical mumbo-jumbo brought the story the necessary comic relief that kept things from becoming to maudlin and bleak. And even though I found the...more
Kelly
rated it
I am so glad that Tammy introduced me to Sandra Kring with The Book of Bright Ideas. I really like Kring's writing style, and I am impressed with her characterization, especially her first person voice of young children/preteens.
This book has a mystery to it (hence the murder mystery tag although there is no murder)with 12 year old Lucy trying to discover who her father is and what other secrets her mom hides. I love Lucy (who narrates the story)and her twin Milo who is gifted and ...more
This book has a mystery to it (hence the murder mystery tag although there is no murder)with 12 year old Lucy trying to discover who her father is and what other secrets her mom hides. I love Lucy (who narrates the story)and her twin Milo who is gifted and ...more
I originally purchased this book after reading and loving The Book of Bright Ideas. However it took me a few years to get past the first few pages. It turned into one of those back up books that I planned to read the next time I was out of books to read. Only I never seemed to be out if books to read!
Recently I decided it had been on my desk for too long and committed myself to reading it. After I got past the first two chapters or so, I was drawn into the story and found myself finis...more
Recently I decided it had been on my desk for too long and committed myself to reading it. After I got past the first two chapters or so, I was drawn into the story and found myself finis...more
I liked Kring's Book of Bright Ideas a lot and am glad I gave this one a try. While there are some major flaws (mom's diaries) and some of it is trite, it's overall a good read. I really liked Lucy and Milo's relationship, and her humor about her brother, along with her gutsy Oma. As someone who works with the dying, I found the grandfather's death to be well researched. The ending didn't just wrap it up perfectly so they could just live happily ever after, so it seemed more like real life. ...more
Amy
rated it
Recommends it for:
fans of Diane Chamberlain, Lesley Kagen
Recommended to Amy by:
impulse buy at Walmart
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This wonderful story is told from the point of view of 11 year-old Lucy, an intelligent and sensitive girl, who plans on being a psychologist when she grows up. Lucy, her mother, grandmother, and twin brother go back to her mother's home town to care for her dying grandfather. Lucy learns more about her family's history than she ever bargins during the time she stays at her grandfather's house. It's a wonderful story about strength, love, and reconciliation. It's challenging to tell a ...more
7/2011 I keep looking for a summer beach book and struggle to find a good one. I was attracted to this author due to good reviews and to this book due to the giftedness of the two children in the book. However, the story was not very interesting. I felt like I was slogging through a soap opera while the author was trying to manipulate my emotions. The characters were extreme yet uninteresting. The story line tried to build to a “oh, no!” gasp, but I didn’t bite. I basically don’t like this...more
Forgot to review this one, but considering my recent choices of dark and depressing, this one was just the right amount of...not quite so dark and depressing! The characters are very likable- especially the new age grandma, & the ex madame of a house of ill repute! This was not too deep, and not too weird, but definitely emotional enough to keep my dark interests peaked.
A really deplorable childhood is re-lived when a single mother- joined by her unique twin children, and "frea...more
A really deplorable childhood is re-lived when a single mother- joined by her unique twin children, and "frea...more
Lucy McGowan is 11 years old and her mother is taking her, her “profoundly gifted” twin brother Milo and her maternal Grandmother to Timber Falls, Wisconsin to care for Lucy’s dying grandfather. A man she has never met because her mother has been estranged from him since before Lucy and her brother were born.
Her mother, Tess, doesn’t want to go. But events are working against her not going. Their Chicago apartment is about to go through a major bug fumigation so they have to vacate i...more
Her mother, Tess, doesn’t want to go. But events are working against her not going. Their Chicago apartment is about to go through a major bug fumigation so they have to vacate i...more
A story that seems calculated to appeal to Oprah, pretty effectively rendered. The narrator is an 11-year-old girl, Lucy, who, at the beginning of the story, lives in Chicago with her single mother, who has trouble committing to long-term relationships, and her twin brother. Like her brother, she's a genius. Her IQ is not as stratospheric as his, but she has a photographic memory and prides herself in being more "sensate," that is, better at understanding and dealing with people than h...more
I just finished this book. The author is a really good writer...it was an engrossing, quick read but I have to say I did not like the story at all. This book tells the story of a single mom, who lives with her new-agey mother and her pre-teen twins. The twins are homeschooled and sheltered from the world. They also know nothing of their birth father. When their apartment catches fire, the family travels to Wisconsin to help care for their terminally ill grandfather. There is bad blood between th...more
Janene Imgrund
rated it
Recommended to Janene by:
Kelly Keefe
Shelves:
fiction-family-issues,
favorites
The only negative I can say....is that I didn't read this book sooner.
My friend brought me her copy. I took it home and it got lost in the shuffle. In fact, months later, she asked if I'd read it and I said I did't have it. lol Whilst cleaning out dust bunnies under my bed...I found it. From there, it sat on my nighstand for a few months. I just had a feeling it was going to be sappy and light.
I was wrong.
Sandra Kring is a writer! She writes in a w...more
My friend brought me her copy. I took it home and it got lost in the shuffle. In fact, months later, she asked if I'd read it and I said I did't have it. lol Whilst cleaning out dust bunnies under my bed...I found it. From there, it sat on my nighstand for a few months. I just had a feeling it was going to be sappy and light.
I was wrong.
Sandra Kring is a writer! She writes in a w...more
This story is told by 11-year-old Lucy McGowan who has a twin brother named Milo who is profoundly gifted. They have never known their father and Lucy hopes to find out about him when their mother returns with them to the home of her childhood to help care for her estranged dying father. Lucy's mother is very troubled and has many aspects of her life she's kept secret from her children. The story is touching and funny, and I grew to champion Lucy is all her efforts--she is pretty gifted, too....more
this is the second book I've read by Sandra Kring. A couple of times I almost gave up on it as the abuse brought up some painful memories. However I was hoping Lucy would get the answers she needed so I kept reading. the characters in the book are well developed except maybe Milo but he prefers to be in the background anyway. You knew an explosion was coming but once it did the book sort of went into a happy ending. Lucy's remarks at her grandfather's funeral showed she knew him better than mos...more
I absolutely loved this book. There were a few places in the book where it was slow but over all it was really good and one of my favorites. It was very well written. The main character, an eleven year old girl, Lucy is very smart and handles many situations better than the adults around her. I loved following the journey with her as she searched for her father's identity while discovering family secrets she was never supposed to know. I give this book and Sandra Kring five stars.
The mother is a frustrating character who refuses to talk about several things that loom big in her twins' lives, like who their father is and why she's so unwilling to commit to a man who the kids have really connected with. The book is told from the perspective of the daughter who does some improbable things to find out the truth behind her mother's secretiveness. Overall the book was engaging and thought-provoking. I would read more books by this author.
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“Sometimes we need to go home to find the parts of ourselves we left behind before we can truly become whole.”
—
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