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The Summer We Fell Apart: A Novel |  | Author: Robin Antalek
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $4.16
as of 7/31/2010 12:25 CDT details
You Save: $10.83 (72%)
New (39) Used (57) from $4.16
Seller: Best Books by Jackson
Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 15669
Media: Paperback
Edition: Original
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0061782165
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061782169
ASIN: 0061782165
Publication Date: January 1, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780061782169 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
The children of a once-brilliant playwright and a struggling actress, the four Haas siblings grew up in chaos—raised in an environment composed of neglect and glamour in equal measure. When their father dies, they must depend on their intense but fragile bond to remember what it means to be family despite years of anger and hurt. These brothers and sisters are painfully human, sometimes selfish, and almost always making the wrong decisions, but their endearing struggles provide laughter through tears—something anyone who's ever had a sibling can relate to.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 43
 Boring July 31, 2010
Piedad Koehn (Key West, FL)
I continued to read this book waiting for something exciting to happen, only to be disappointed. I would not recommend this book to anyone, if you want to read about dysfuntional families read THE GLASS HOUSE.
Sometimes In Life All We Have Is Family July 13, 2010
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
Occasionally I'll pick up a book and wonder how on the earth that particular person ever found a publisher willing to print their particular piece of drivel. That is whole-heartedly not the case with Robin Antalek's debut novel. //The Summer We Fell Apart// tells the story of the dysfunctional Haas family, the father a once-successful Tony award-winning playwright and the mother a beautiful but struggling B-movie actress. As success abandons the family, the children are left to raise themselves amidst chaos and neglect. We hear the story through the voices of the four Haas children - each vastly different from the others, yet all tied together by accidents of birth and responsibility. Finn, the eldest son and family alcoholic. Kate, striver of the clan, with all the outward trappings of a successful attorney yet she has no one to call her own. Middle brother George, teacher at a prestigious high school in New York. Youngest Amy, an artist.
Each character contributes a heart-rending, emotional storyline capable of supporting an entire book on its own; yet, the artful combining of each story into the greater weaving is reminiscent of family itself. I'll be greatly interested in Robin Antalek's future works.
Reviewed by Lanine Bradley
 Great summer read! June 20, 2010
NewYorker (New York)
It's a very hot and humid weekend here in upstate NY and I wanted a "summer" book to read. I've had this book in my bookcase for awhile and pulled it out yesterday (Saturday, 6/19/10) afternoon, took it to the backyard with a pitcher of lemonade and to my surprise and delight, completely lost myself in the story! I read nearly 100 pages before I stopped. Woke up early this morning to the heat and humidity again, and reached for the book and read another 40 pages before getting up and getting going for the day. It's hard to believe this is the author's first novel, and I hope there will be many more to come! She writes so well and I am transported to the home and the character's lives... they come alive for me. Author is very gifted and will easily win over her reading fans if she continues writing the same way she did in this book. I've read some of the negative reviews, and some of the negative comments as well. I am not associated in any way, shape or form with the author, I don't know her, never heard of her, no-one has mentioned her or her book to me, and was VERY surprised when I read she lives in Saratoga which is not too very far from where I live (I didn't know that at the time I ordered the book from Amazon). In fact, when I found out where she lived, I think that's why I put the book away for awhile, because I was afraid she'd be like other authors who try to mention certain local streets, shops, etc. so local people (maybe friends and relatives) can identify with them, but who have shown to me that they know little of the area they are writing about... and they live there! Good for this author to place the home and characters in a completely different place from where she (author) lives, and her references to Saratoga are brief and correct. Will be looking for her next book... anxiously!
I tried so hard to like it... June 10, 2010
JoPa
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think I had too high expectations for this book. It was disappointing for me. I too love dysfunctional family angle but when the book ended I still felt there were loose ends that the author didn't tie up. For me it didn't answer questions clearly, but I did like the fact that all the characters in the family were so different and how they all (except Amy and George) have this love-hate relationship both with each other and with their parents. I think I needed more.
Disappointing, poorly written May 14, 2010
Judy E. Coughlin (Leesburg, VA USA)
Like some other reviewers, I was disappointed in this book, which did start out promisingly. Both the story and the grammar seemed to unravel toward the end of the book. The amateurish writing made the story confusing, because it often wasn't clear what was happening, what had happened, what was about to happen. . .a good editor could have improved the book significantly. However, the ending would still be trite and unrealistic--after all, happy families are all alike, no matter how long it takes them to get there. I'm glad I borrowed it from the library instead of buying it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 43
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