A Page Out of Life

by Kathleen Reid

The connections women make through scrapbooking inspire a novel full of "the twists and turns that keep readers turning pages."

When frazzled mother of four Ashley joins a local scrapbook club, she's amazed at the way old photos and mementos can bring color to sepia-toned memories. Among the diverse group is Tara, a single grad student whose search for love, like her relationship with her absentee father, has only brought her heartache--and some funny dating stories. Then there's Libby, a semi-retired teacher who thought she'd spend her golden years taking classes--not as a town pariah after her son is charged in a corporate scandal. But all three find comfort and inspiration in the scrapbooking group, where they learn that only together can they face earth-shattering revelations and emotionally unavailable men--and figure out their futures while artfully commemorating their pasts.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2008

About the author

Kathleen Reid is an award-winning author of three works of fiction: Paris Match, A Page Out of Life and Sunrise in Florence (2019). Sunrise in Florence won 5 Indie Book Awards in Romance and Romantic Suspense. New York Times Bestselling Author, Adriana Trigiani, said “Sunrise in Florence is a tonic for readers who love Italy, fine art and adventure.”

Her new book, Secrets in the Palazzo, just won a PenCraft Fiction award in contemporary romance. Rose’s adventures in Italy continue as she pursues a career as an artist and searches for a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Kathleen is a wife, mom to two girls, avid runner, and volunteer. Please see www.KathleenReid.com

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book follows three main characters: Ashley, Tara and Libby, who are in a scrapbooking club together. Ashley is a frazzled mom of four, Tara is a single grad student and Libby is a grandmother whose son is involved in a corporate scandal.

I was interested in this book because the characters scrapbook (like me!). But this book is in SERIOUS need of editing. There are continuity error and grammatical errors throughout and the writing is just.not.good. Someone needs to give the author a thesaurus and a lesson on how to craft a metaphor. The general story was mildly entertaining until about two-thirds of the way through when there is a completely unrealistic plot twist that makes little sense. I think the publisher is banking on the fact that scrapbookers will be so excited about the fact that the book has scrapbooking in it that they won't care that it's poorly written. Luckily, I checked it out from the library so I didn't waste my money.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

riendship Through Scrap Booking
This story centers on a group of women living outside of Atlanta, who gather each week to make scrapbook creations. Any woman who is part of a scrap booking group, or women's group of any kind (like a book club, bunko group, or knitting circle) will easily relate to these women and understand the strength and bonds of friendship that go along with meeting regularly. There are eight women in the group, but only three, Ashley, Libby and Tara are prominently featured, beautifully fleshed out, and have intriguing story lines.

Ashley is the mother of four with a louse of a husband. I cringed when at one point he actually calls her a "fat pig." She is the daughter of a super model, "Marrie," who is as famous as "Twiggy." Tara is a beautiful doctoral student, who is preparing her art history thesis on the Spanish artist Miró and is in love with her louse of an advisor. Libby, the "mother" of the group who takes care of everyone, deals with a public scandal brought on by her son's corporate greed. This plot line, along with a surprising twist involving Tara and Ashley are the most enjoyable aspects of the book and what kept me reading. Scrap booking is merely a device to bring them together and I only grew impatient when the subject or action of scrap booking came up. Regardless, it all works and author, Kathleen Reid, couldn't have picked a better title for this novel.

The most powerful aspect of this tale is the positive nature of friendships between women, and the support the group members give one another through difficult times. One aspect of the plot regarding Tara's Miró thesis was NOT resolved, however, and this left me wondering . . . . The characters beg for a sequel, particularly those left undeveloped.

[Jackie]

Great summer reading. This book is about three women who come together to scrapbook. We get to know them, and what is going on in their life. However, there is a hanger in the book, where to of the women have more in common that just scrapbooking.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love , love this book. A group of women get together weekly to scrapbook, gossip, etc. There's a big surprise in the middle. Love stories that catch you off guard. A story that makes you realize what treasures your friends really are. Great read. Highly recommend.

[Geri · Rating 2 out of 5]

silly story line with dialogue that could have been written by a twelve year old.

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

goofy, silly read! Should have saved it for the beach!

[Sahiba Salmon-Rekhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was sweet, cute, and a little different from what I normally read. Was it amazing no, but it was good! The whole book was giving found family vibes and I absolutely love that. Also the progression of Ashley was something so fun to follow and really made me smile.

The things I didn’t like was I didn’t like the writing style and I didn’t like that we didn’t get to see Tara’s story play out. I think that would’ve been so cute. However, the girl power vibes and aura in the book were good!

[Pen Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple easy read underlining collaboration between women. It kind of fizzles out but quite heart-warming.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love to scrapbook so I understood all the descriptions of the swaps, products and techniques described in the book. Although the book revolves around a scrapbook group, the stories were of friendship, strength, values and stories from each of the lives of the women in the book. At one point I thought the story was going to degenerate into a low morals story but it didn't. I enjoyed the story but gave it a three star rating. I don't give 4's unless it is really good and I don't give 5's unless it changes my life in some way.

[Mary Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring. Unfortunately, I think this could have been a good book. It has the bones to be a well-developed, interesting, comtemplative story, but the author never got it to stand on its own two feet. All of the characters speak in the same polite voice. Honestly, there wasn't much (if any) differentiation between the characters, just their circumstances. Overall, the book is flat and unsatisfying.

[Pam Levitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a light read about women's friendships. A few of the characters were likable, but overall, I found the book lacking compared to other similar titles. Nearly all the men are losers and liars and the storyline was worn. There were no surprises here and the bond between the women could have been further developed. As a mindless beach read, it fulfills a purpose but I found it somewhat stale and flimsy.

[Carmela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok quick read. In the same vein as "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and "The Knitting Circle" - only it's about scrapbooking. With a less-than-stellar twist. But it kept my interest and it was a quick read.

[Jackie Randolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A client rec. this book. Her friend wrote it! It was pretty good!

[Arleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking for a light book during the era of pandemic. Found the characters likeable but very . Interesting characters on their own, but weaving into a novel but not very realistic. Beach read, perhaps yes. Relaxing entertainment, probably not for me. Idea of scrapbooking caught my eye but realized I'll have to find a different way to be creative about archiving our family photos.

[Laiba Basit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a good book, but I wasn't really feeling it. I loved the positivity and story though, and I would never say that this was a bad book.

My rating: 3 stars
1 star for plot/storyline.
2 stars for the positivity.

[Ruth Kevghas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want it to end- I want friends like them!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and the characters and I'm so bummed it's not a series!

[Nicole Estes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable with engaging characters. Quick read with a little plot twist at the end.

[Terry Confer Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the characters and their interactions

[Amanda Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really sweet book about the power and importance of friendships with women.

[Alison Record · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not a work of literary fiction. If you just want an easy read, this is it. I enjoyed it- a simple, quick read.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Women supporting women while scrapbooking

[Lyza Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of Waiting to Exhale. This book proves I can read more then just fantasy, though it did take me 3 weeks to read while I simultaneously read Strange Candy by Laurel K Hamilton and Twilight, by Stephanie Myer. I was having withdraws. LOL

Back to the book. This book revolves around 3 woman who become friends and more through a weekly scrapbooking meet up. they each have everyday life issues.

Libby's son gets in serious trouble with the law and she has a hard time coping and she has a hard time but refuses to turn her back on her only son because he did something stupid. The things we endure as parents.

The other two, who's names slip me at the moment, endure more pangs of their own in finding out they are half sisters with two VERY different mothers. Both take the news differently but decide to deal and accept each other as family. Together, they confront a father who can't seem to keep it in his pants and whom cowardly refuses to tell his wives of his deceptions. Turned out one of his wives already knew of other wife and did not care. oen of the sisters is following in her fathers foot steps and going for her masters degree in Art while sleeping with her married professor. With the reveal of her own situations, she decides this is wrong and breakes things off and in return he black balls her. The other sister is married to a pig who no longer loves her, in my humble opinon, because she has gained weight after giving birth to thier 3 beautiful kids. She finds he is having an affaire and that is is worth her weight in gold and kicks the SOB to the curb, picking herself back up, finally for her own satisfaction...with her kids.

This was an awesome drama that I would recomend, even though there was no fanatial beings, killing or sex involved. LOL

[Kim Garner · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love scrapbooking {which you know I do} and reading...this is a GOOD read! All of the characters were different and the story was written well. I think I had a bit of each character in me {or something that I dream of being} so I felt tied to the characters. I did not like the outcome of one, but it can't all work out in the end, right? As I read, I thought about this craft of scrapbooking and the people that you are connected to within this hobby. The support of the friends within this book all began through this creative outlet. It was very cool...
I also met this author at CHA and she was delightful!

[Jennifer A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like novels that incorporate scrapbooking... I'll give them a chance, at least. This book was good, overall. The main characters were interesting; they weren't developed quite as fully as some authors do (ex: Debbie Macomber's characters in the Blossom Street series), but there was enough information for me to get engaged in their stories and care about them. The 'different chapter for different characters' perspective is also a good way to get more involved in the characters. One plot twist was just a bit too far-fetched for me to really believe, but overall, it was good and I would definitely read another one if it was a series (didn't look yet to see whether it is or not).

[Philia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read. I've enjoyed it. Friends and lovers come in all shapes, sizes and colours; just like scrapebooking. Each one is unique and personal. We may use the same material, but each of our expression and creation are different. The bonds between good friends are invaluable. We can guarantee that good friends are always there for one other, in every page of our life. Lovers are blinds; some take up just one page out of our life, or maybe a chapter, a volume, or a whole life time. Some are blots, others, a neverending chapters of poems.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book; hard to put down. I think it is a great read for women of all ages. The author showed how women of varying ages handle the obstacles that come their way. she expressed the importance of each of their problems, never making one problem "worse" than another. The friends in this book made everything fall together and expressed the importance of good "girlfriends" in each of our lives.

[Valerie Cesari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book!! When you first read it's a "scrapbooking novel" you might be reluctant to read it fearing a corny plot line, but it's actally a good book. It goes between the lives of the different woman characters in the book. You see how different all of their lives are and how they are all at different points in life, but they can all come together for a common interest. "Scrapbooking" isn't actually a big theme in the book. I really enjoyed it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Creative Memories Consultant and avid scrapbooker I was drawn to this book without hearing a thing about it. I couldn't put it down on our flight out to Hawaii. The characters seemed 'real' and you can definitely identify with at least one of the women. A fun read about women and friendship and how scrapbooking provides the glue that keeps them communicating.