Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Miller's Valley” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Miller's Valley

Anna Quindlen

3.88 · Rating details · 21,451 ratings · 2,706 reviews

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - In a small town on the verge of big change, a young woman unearths deep secrets about her family and unexpected truths about herself. Filled with insights that are the hallmark of Anna Quindlen's bestsellers, Miller's Valley is an emotionally powerful story about a family you will never forget.
For generations the Millers have lived in Miller's Valley. Mimi ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 257 pages

Published April 5th 2016 by Random House

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Miller's Valley, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale

The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Anticipated 2016 Literary Fiction

325 books — 719 voters

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany

Best Books of 2016

1,530 books — 2,655 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.88 ·

Rating details

· 21,451 ratings · 2,706 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Miller's Valley

Jul 02, 2016 Deanna rated it really liked it

I have read quite a few of Anna Quindlen's books and I have enjoyed them all.

Miller's Valley was no exception.

During the first few chapters I was really wondering if I was going to be able to keep reading. It wasn't that it was hard to follow, if anything it just felt like there wasn't much going on. But as I kept reading, it kind of snuck up on me, pulling me along and before I knew I was nearing the end of a story I wish would go on.

Told from Mary Margaret "Mimi" Miller's point o ...more

flag 166 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2015 Angela M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

When my Goodreads friend Diane S called this "a quiet novel , but a meaningful one " I knew I should move this up to the top of my tbr list and I just knew that this was my kind of story . It's the kind of story that appeals to me because it's about characters that seem like people you might know , about a family that is probably more typical than dysfunctional, about the things that happen in people's lives . Things happen - like illness, death , unplanned pregnancies , a wayward son who return ...more

flag 154 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2015 Elyse (retired from reviewing/semi hiatus) Walters rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

To devour in 1 or 2 sittings....
Anna Quindlin's writing is deeply felt...
A refreshing length novel ...( just under 300 pages)...comes at a time when
books have been getting longer.

I've loved every Anna Quindln book I've read. Her novels call for discussion. This one too!!!

It's a terrific 'curl-up-and-read' novel. Domestic lives and town are both with turbulence.
Multi-dimensional complex issues.
Rich thorny characters...
Quality substance-storytelling!

No quest ...more

flag 122 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2016 Brina rated it really liked it

Shelves: anna-quindlen, coming-of-age, fiction

Anna Quindlen has been one of my favorite American novelists since I read her Black and Blue. This year I have rediscovered her writing by reading her Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, experiencing Quindlen the person as opposed to the writer. By reading an author's memoir, one feels like they know the person, so when one reads their novels, she is able to pinpoint moments from the author's life. It is in this light that I read Quindlen's latest novel Miller's Valley which relates the life of Mar Anna Quindlen has been one of my favorite American novelists since I read her Black and Blue. This year I have rediscovered her writing by reading her Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, experiencing Quindlen the person as opposed to the writer. By reading an author's memoir, one feels like they know the person, so when one reads their novels, she is able to pinpoint moments from the author's life. It is in this light that I read Quindlen's latest novel Miller's Valley which relates the life of Mary Margaret Miller of Miller's Valley, Pennsylvania.

Mary Margaret "Mimi" Miller is the youngest of three children of Buddy and Miriam Miller, whose family has lived in the same valley farming community for over a century. A small town which makes up the fabric of American society, where the church and diner are the center of town activities, Miller's Valley is a wholesome community. Generations of families plant their roots there and no one thinks to make a future anywhere else. This is especially true of the Miller family, who the town is named for.

Being rooted in the past changes as Mimi and her friends come of age in more than one facet of their lives. The Pennsylvania state government desires to flood the valley in order to alleviate a faulty dam and low flood plane. For years, a government agent pesters Mimi's father to sell and move, but he isn't interested in leaving his family's land behind. Meanwhile, Mimi's brother Tommy, once an all-American boy enlists in the Marines and fights in Vietnam. Returning a changed man, Tommy threatens the fabric of the Miller family. The future is pinned on Mimi, who is gifted in math and science and as the glass ceiling starts to crack, could go farther than any Miller has before, including her mother the nurse and brother the engineer.

Quindlen creates a solid cast of characters including Mimi's aunt Ruth who refuses to step foot out of her house, causing friction between her and her sister. There are other quirky characters as you would find in a quaint small town, everyone from the diner owner to the members of the VFW to Mimi's science teacher and sponsor Mrs Farrell. Mimi Miller has something of Quindlen in her as both author and protagonist had to balance caring for sick parents with their own futures at a relatively young age. Thus, Mimi has many layers to her personality, and one could tell that for Quindlen, creating her was a labor of love.

Generally, I find books where characters look back at their lives to be one dimensional and not the best written. By weaving multiple storylines into this novel, Quindlen has created a multi-layered story, where the reader is genuinely concerned for more than one character. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Mimi Miller's life as she attempted to earn more than a Mrs degree and live the American dream. It is always a treat for me to read Anna Quindlen's writing and I look forward to her future novels. ...more

flag 111 likes · Like · see review

Mar 27, 2016 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-favourites

This is one of those subtle reads that kicks you in the gut as you flip to the last page and realize you don't want it to end. You've become invested.
Mimi Miller is a child of Miller's Valley. She lives and breathes it as do the other members of her family; as does the town. But something is happening there. Slowly, insidiously, the valley is drowning. And she knows the truth. Home is the nucleus of this family with its extended attachments and is threatened with the government plans of unlocki ...more

flag 102 likes · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2015 Karen rated it it was amazing

What a lovely novel of the story of the small town of Miller's Valley and the people who lived there, as they were facing a major upheaval in their lives. I just loved the characters and this story touched on a lot of different issues, many of which a lot of readers face in their own lives.

flag 98 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2016 Debbie rated it liked it

I can’t even remember the damn title. I don’t think Miller’s Valley, I think Hidden Valley salad dressing (ranch, in particular) and I flinch because it’s so tasteless. It’s not a crazy association—for me the book is what you eat when the doctor orders a bland diet. You sigh as you chomp on a baked potato that is full of butter and sour cream but missing the chives, which might have given it a little pizazz. The book is all Hallmarky, all austere and heartwarming with a good upstanding teenager ...more

flag 79 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2015 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

A quiet novel, but a meaningful one and a timely one. Eminent domain had been in the news a month or so ago and is something I wholeheartedly disagree with. Miller's Valley, a small town said to have a failing dam, wanted for a recreational area after it is flooded, swimming boating etc. Except it has been in the Miller family for generations and Mimi is not sure she wants to leave it, she knows her father does not want to leave their farm, even if her mother sees it as inevitable.

Mi ...more

flag 72 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2015 Esil rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

Miller's Valley totally crept up on me. It felt like a sweet -- but slow and light -- start. And by the end, I felt teary and like I was being abandoned by old friends. The plot is kind of besides the point. The story is told from Mimi's point of view. She focuses on the first 20 years of her life, which take place in the 1950s to 1970s. She lives in Miller's Valley, a small town in Pennsylvania. She reflects on her family and on the history of Miller's Valley. The story is besides the point, be ...more

flag 69 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2015 B the BookAddict rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

While I was reading Miller’s Valley, I would have told you that I did not feel overly involved in the novel. But after I finished the last page and closed the book, I experienced a sharp lonely feeling in my heart that Mimi’s story was at an end. Quindlen has again excelled in producing a quiet type of fiction that seduces the reader with a hidden charm.

Other reviewers have said Mimi was a ‘good girl’ but I believe she simply did what was left for her to do; it was just the natural o ...more

flag 50 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2015 Diane Barnes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I read a review before I started this book, where the reviewer was complaining that it was boring because nothing really happened. Just day to day life of regular people, nothing much to get excited about. I have to disagree with that.

What happens in this book is life, and that's the most exciting and wonderful thing there is. Just everyday people, loving and laughing and crying, making mistakes, sometimes very big ones that change things forever. Regular people with their everyday ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2017 Snotchocheez rated it really liked it

4 stars

I'm happy to report that my second Anna Quindlen reading experience, Miller's Valley, was much better than my first, Still Life With Breadcrumbs. I'm not quite sure why this worked better for me, but I'm guessing it had much to do with the capable, much more relatable first-person narration of Mimi (Mary Margaret) Miller, who provides the story of her family's ordeals contending with a farm smack-dab in the middle of an area the government wants to reclaim (because of its perilously high water table) ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Mar 22, 2017 Vanessa S. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 2017-reads, library, historical-fiction

"But no one ever leaves the town where they grew up, not really, even if they go."

I didn't want this to end!! SO, SO GOOD! By far my favorite book I've read thus far in 2017. I don't know what it was about this book - nothing really happens, it's not my usual mystery or thriller - but it is just beautifully written and so touching.

This is a great coming-of-age story, and I really loved Mimi, the main character. She was just so relatable and authentic, and all of the supporting characters were aut ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2015 ☮Karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016, favorites, netgalley

It's been two years since reading a novel by the extraordinary Anna Quindlen. I have turned to her non-fiction works to satisfy my Quindlen cravings in between publications of her novels. So reading Miller's Valley, I kept thinking, Where does she come up with these great story lines and wonderful characterizations? I think most authors learn to "write what you know;" so if that is true, how does this city girl/journalist/novelist know about life on a farm, the engineering of a dam that th ...more

flag 41 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2015 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-books

"...there's something about doing a job alone that you've always done with someone else that just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's like making Christmas cookies by yourself. There's nothing wrong with it in theory, but you're really supposed to be doing it with other people, and not just any other people."

Miller's Valley is a beautiful "slow burning" kind of book that I enjoy so much. Set against the backdrop of a dying farming town and the question of government eminent domain, Quindlen has crea ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2016 Margitte rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-novel, relationships, 2016-read, family-sagas, community, reviewed

From the blurb:

As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be “a place where it’s just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content.”

Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true id/>

From the blurb:

As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be “a place where it’s just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content.”

Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go.” Miller’s Valley reminds us that the place where you grew up can disappear, and the people in it too, but all will live on in your heart forever.

There's something similar to the work of authors such as Willa Cather, Anne Tyler, Kent Haruf and Richard Russo in this book. All these authors capture the essence, the soul of ordinary American families and passage through time, leaving a richness of character and history behind. Love and hurt, joy and sorrow, secrets and gossip fill up the valley where the government is slowly busy to drown the community. Their history will eventually lay buried under forty feet of water.

Reading the story of Mimi Miller, the last Miller of Miller's Valley, felt like moving into the small community and becoming one of them. Mimi recounts her memories since she was little girl of eleven years old, until her 65th birthday. She tells the stories of the people on all the different roads of life and how it happened. Like peeling of the layers of an onion, she slowly and gently exposes the inner soul of her family and friends, the neighbors and government officials who made a lasting impact on her life. There's kindness and cruelty, passion and patience woven into a slow moving drama unfolding below the Roosevelt dam wall above their homes. The endearing characters are like good wines:

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” ― Paulo Coelho, Brida

Some are fruity, others full-bodied, and others a little bit tart and zesty. But they fill up the palette of Mimi's memories in all flavors of the soul.

I felt left behind when the last sentence ended it all. I did not want to feel like a reader closing a book. I wanted to appose my exclusion from the place and people who embraced me like one of them by making me part of their story.

It was THAT good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
...more

flag 37 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2018 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, historical-fiction, pennsylvania, 1960s, library-book, 2018

4.5 Stars

”You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can.
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am.

“I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here it's like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself.
If I could walk around I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that, built me.”
The House That Built Me - lyrics by Allen Shambl/> ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2016 Cathrine ☯️ rated it really liked it

3.75★

I felt a bit like the frog in the pot of cold water with this one. Should I jump? For a while the burner wasn't on, then there was this warming trend and I settled in. It ended up being just right, not too cold, not too hot.

One of my favorite authors, however I did not love this one as much as many of my friends ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Feb 26, 2017 Kathleen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017, 2019, fiction, 5-star-books, club-book-of-the-month

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. **Edited April 2019
Since this book was chosen for our "In Person" book club, I read it for a second time and enjoyed it as much as the first time. Anna Quindlen's writing style gently pulls me into her stories. I will leave the review that I wrote in February 2017, as I have no more to add.

MILLER'S VALLEY was the second book by Anna Quindlen that I have had the pleasure to read. The first was her memoir - BIRTHDAY CANDLES AND PLENTY OF CAKE.

With her exquisite writing talent Anna Quindlen ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2016 Tooter rated it it was amazing

4.5 Stars. Several of my friends on Goodreads stated in their reviews that they didn't want this book to end. I now understand what they mean. Beautifully written.

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

May 10, 2016 Marilyn C. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016, my-favorites

A well written, coming of age story by Anna Quindlen that tells the story of Mimi Miller and her family in Miller's Valley, starting in the 1960's thru present time. Their multigenerational farm is being threatened by the government who wants to take the land and then cover the valley with water. This book and the characters felt REAL, with a family you can recognize. I absolutely loved this book and had tears in my eyes in the final chapter. 5 stars!

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2017 Stacey rated it liked it

3.5 I love Anna Quindlen and she did what she does best in Miller's Valley; to write about the nuances and intricacies of a family. The secrets, lies, loyalty, and most importantly commitment(to the farm).

This is a coming of age story with a reliable young narrator, Mimi. We follow Mimi through adolescence to adulthood. The setting had me thinking of a time gone by on a farm in rural America. I have no knowledge of growing up on a farm, but I feel like I did while reading Mimi's obse ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2016 Julie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: e-book, historical-fiction, contemporary-fiction, overdrive, family

Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen is a 2016 Random House publication.

When this book was up for review on Netgalley, I passed on it, since I was picking up on the ‘coming of age’ vibe, which normally isn’t my cup of tea. But, after reading some very positive reviews, I changed my mind and decided to give the book a try.

For me, this book reads like a fictional memoir since the story begins with Mimi Miller as a child and follows her life all the way into her twilight years. At the heart of the st ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2016 Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, fiction

This stream-of-consciousness style story of a small town written from the perspective of a 65 year old woman looking back on her life beginning in childhood was a beautiful portrayal of her life and her closest connections. I was disappointed at points that there wasn’t more emotion. I wasn’t sure if the lack of emotion had to do with a high level of emotional maturity on the narrator’s part or if it had to do with the book being a reflection back of more than 40 years.

Still, I thoro This stream-of-consciousness style story of a small town written from the perspective of a 65 year old woman looking back on her life beginning in childhood was a beautiful portrayal of her life and her closest connections. I was disappointed at points that there wasn’t more emotion. I wasn’t sure if the lack of emotion had to do with a high level of emotional maturity on the narrator’s part or if it had to do with the book being a reflection back of more than 40 years.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the story line and the portrayal of a family with ever-changing dynamics. They live in Miller’s Valley which is threatened by increasing floods by the misplanned Roosevelt’s dam. There is much mistrust of outsiders, yet everyone hopes to escape themselves. The narrator is Mimi, who grew up with two best friends in town, LaRhonda and Donald. Donald moves away to California and Mimi discovers that LaRhonda isn’t much of a friend.

Mimi is the youngest of three children in the family. Ed, her oldest brother, goes to college and then marries a woman from somewhere else. He returns from time to time, but is viewed like an outsider. Tommy, is the most beloved and the middle child. However, after enlisting in the Vietnam War, he returns a very changed/damaged person. Mimi’s aunt, (her mother’s sister), Ruth lives in the house behind them, locked in by her own fears, as in a prison. Interestingly, Mimi’s father is her biggest defender and then after his stroke which leaves him aphasic and weak on one side of his body, he chooses to spend most of his time at Ruth’s. Mimi spends her time researching the dam and the ultimate fate of Miller’s Valley for her science project her senior year in high school. She keeps mostly very quiet about her findings, not wanting to rock the boat in the the small town or disrupt her family life.

It was an enjoyable read, about a small town, about a family, about returning home and remembering what is important in life. It would definitely appeal more to women than men.

For discussion questions, please see http://www.book-chatter.com/?p=230.

Thank you so much to netgalley, Random House, and Ann Quindlen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2016 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ added it

Shelves: young-adult, adult-fiction, 2016-reads

"I have clear memories from that time, but they're not the ones you'd think. They're never the ones you think. (...) No, it's strange little moments that live inside you and keep peeking out the windows that open suddenly in your mind."

^^THIS.

Unfortunately I can't decide on a rating, but if there's something to say about Miller's Valley, it's that Anna Quindlen sure knows how to write memories right : not linear, yet never nonsensical, with plenty of little insights to feed your hungry want. Although I am n ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2019 Melanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-i-own

At first I felt not much was going on in this story. As I kept reading, the story sucked me in and I got emotionally invested in Mimi Miller's life. In the end, I felt I had read a "big" story in only 257 pages.

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Aug 03, 2017 Deanna rated it liked it

So many reviews say to stay with this and eventually you will fall in love with these characters and never want to leave them. Well, I didn't hate the book or the characters, and it did become a little more interesting as it went along, but mostly I gave up on trying to be engaged and just went with it to get done. It was ok, but I can't say I ever cared much.

I do enjoy her non-fiction a lot. I'm just not her fiction reader.

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 11, 2018 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: american, borrowed-from-library

I’m a fan of Anna Quindlen. She writes books that move fluidly through the story, with realism, a bit of suspense, and deft character development. I never think of deserting her work or close the book thinking I have wasted my time by reading her.

Miller’s Valley is about the displacement of a community in the interest of flooding the valley to extend the dam reservoir of the Roosevelt Dam. The story centers on the Miller family who have occupied the farm at the heart of the valley fo ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Mar 08, 2016 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

Miller’s Valley is a coming of age story about a young girl in a small Pennsylvania farming community starting in the 1960s. Reading Anna Quinlen is like enjoying expensive chocolate- deep, rich and meant to be savored. Are you like me, someone who highlights on Kindle the phrases that speak to you? I can only say that I was highlighting a lot of passages. It's amazing how quickly she draws you into the story and has you caring for each character with all their strengths and weaknesses. It delve ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2017 Cheeky Cher rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-misc, pbcp

4.5 stars - Incredible. I really loved it.

Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, not really, even if they go.”

More of a melancholy literary drama and character study than a fast-moving plot driven novel, this one will not appeal to everyone as much as it did to me. But if you appreciate characters that will stick with you for a/> ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Play Book Tag: Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen - 3.5 stars	1	14	Oct 22, 2018 08:18PM
Play Book Tag: Miller's Valleu, by Anna Quindlen--4 stars	1	10	Oct 12, 2017 06:48AM
fact or fiction?	1	15	Mar 17, 2017 07:39AM
Oakville Reads: * Question #5: The ending: family secrets	4	43	Feb 02, 2017 07:21AM
Oakville Reads: * Question #4: The Sixties	2	18	Jan 30, 2017 04:46PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fiction

388 users

Historical > Historical Fiction

86 users

Young Adult > Coming Of Age

44 users

See top shelves…

About Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen

2,997 followers

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of eight novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a number one New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a mmemoir ...more