A book about people and events that define your life

books:


	• The Book of Bright Ideas Sandra Kring Delta, 2006 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 52 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A book about people and events that define your life

This was a fun book. Told from the perspective of 9 year-old Button, which is delightful in itself, as children give the most honest portrait of the people and events that take place around them. It was intriguing how all the characters were molded and ultimately changed by each other, and how a stable and sometimes dull existance can be so awakened by the arrival of "wildfire." And how sometimes that's the best thing that can happen to anybody. And although I didn't exactly LOVE how Kring ended the novel, I very much understand why she did so. People can come in and out of your life like a shooting star, but sometimes they leave a lasting imprint on your soul that forever changes who you are.

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Wonderful story told from the eyes of a child

This novel is absolutely delightful. The story is told from the perspective of a 9-year-old girl nicknamed "Button", and I think Kring does a fantastic job. I could feel Button's terror when she becomes nervous (scratching the heck out of her skin and biting the side of her mouth), her joy when Winnalee told her she is her best friend, and her agony when she is forced to keep something from her friend. How wonderfully refreshing to read a story from the eyes of a child. I found myself laughing out loud a couple of times at Winnalee and Button's discoveries.

I predicted part of the secret that is revealed toward the end, but that didn't take anything away from the book for me. The story takes a serious turn at this point, but the "secret" explains some unanswered questions and the reason behind one character's behavior. I was fine with the twist -- it isn't what this novel is all about. The lessons Button, Winnalee, and Freeda teach us are what makes this novel worth reading.

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LOVED IT!

Started this book Monday night and finished it the next day - couldn't put it down! The writing is so cute and quirky, it seems like a 9-year old actually wrote the book. Very refreshing novel, a delight from cover to cover. And the lessons learned by all the characters - Button, Winnalee, Jewel, Aund Verdie, Freeda, etc. - just an added bonus to this wonderful book.

Cute story

While slow is some spots, overall "The Book of Bright Ideas" was a good story.
It's about friendship and trying to be a better, less messed up person.

Ten Thumbs Up!!!

"The Book of Bright Ideas" is an absolutely charming and interesting story of two "sisters," Winnalee and the much older Freda, who end up unintentionally living in a small midwestern town. Human kindness is what brings and keeps them in this town. While the narrator's Aunt is the one who first takes these two bewildered girls under her wing, other members of the community grow to care about them as well. These two sisters have many gifts to offer of their own, most of which bring a bright and much needed change to some of the ladies and men in this otherwise ho-hum town.
The story is told from the point of view of nine-year old Button. At first the dialogue from this young girl seems a little strange and unexpected, but shortly into this novel you become attached to the innocent and insightful narrator. You also easily become attached to the two sisters, Winnalee and Freda. Winnalee is the narrator's age and full of spunk and wonder. Just the friend Button needs. Freda, much older than Winnalee, is also full of spunk but rough around the edges due to a tough upbringing. Freda is foul mouthed at times, but there is so much more than that to her as we learn throughout the story. Sometimes she's not very likeable, but other times you really come to like and appreciate her. Aunt Verdella, the narrator's saintly aunt, is loveable-we all want an aunt like her. And, finally, the narrator's mother is kind of a stick in the mud who blossoms through the chance meeting of Freda. There are other interesting characters, but those mentioned are the main ones.
The author does a SUPERB job of making her characters believable! I found myself routing for each and every one of them. I could also picture them quite vividly. I felt a connection to these characters and empathized with all of them on some level. These are wonderfully credible characters. I wanted to be right in that small town with them.
The author writes a highly entertaining story about people, families, secrets, love, let-downs, and redemtion. Most women will identify with the highly dynamic women and girls in this keeper of a story. I was sad when the story ended because it was that good, and I'll be seeking out the author's other novel. "The Book of Bright Ideas" played out in my mind like a movie as I read it. In fact, it would make a great movie.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Wisconsin, 1961. Evelyn ?Button? Peters is nine the summer Winnalee and her fiery-spirited older sister, Freeda, blow into her small town?and from the moment she sees them, Button knows this will be a summer unlike any other.

Much to her mother?s dismay, Button is fascinated by the Malone sisters, especially Winnalee, a feisty scrap of a thing who carries around a shiny silver urn containing her mother?s ashes and a tome she calls ?The Book of Bright Ideas.? It is here, Winnalee tells Button, that she records everything she learns: her answers to the mysteries of life. But sometimes those mysteries conceal a truth better left buried. And when a devastating secret is suddenly revealed, dividing loyalties and uprooting lives, no one?from Winnalee and her sister to Button and her family?will ever be the same.

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