The Reader's Bar discussion

Please post your comments about this book below. Happy Reading!

Chapter 1: (view spoiler)[ “You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody.
Your other wife and your other girl is a secret?, I asked him.
He put me down from his lap, so we could look each other in the face. No. You've got it the wrong way around. Dana you are the one that's a secret.” (hide spoiler)]
Why did he think it was ok say that to a child?

Chapter 7: "Your man or your pride. You can't have them both." O_o Wow

Chapter 7: "Save me James, I dare you." (lol) love it!

It is sad that Dana had to carry the burden of being a love/outside child.

Jae' -

I see you are "enjoying" this book. Yes, there are many discussion points. :)

Jae' wrote: "Chapter 1: “You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody.
Your other wife and your other girl is a secret?,..."

(view spoiler)[ There is nothing that makes me madder then when parents use children for their own means because of adult actions. James was selfish, and more concerned about having his cake and eating it too and his self-image. But even worse the mother bought into this also. (hide spoiler)]

Jae' wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Being a parent to me is one of the hardest job in the world. You do not have to pass a test or become qualified. When I adopted my kitten last year I laughed with my oldest daughter at how much paperwork I had to fill out to show that I will be a responsible pet owner - told her no asked me what my qualifications were before I gave birth to her. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ Beverly wrote: "Jae' wrote: "Chapter 1: “You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody.
Your other wife and your other girl ..." (hide spoiler)]

Exactly!!!

Beverly wrote: "Jae' wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

Ha! Good point!

Beverly wrote: "Jae' -

I see you are "enjoying" this book. Yes, there are many discussion points. :)"

Yes, I am =-D

i'm not very far along but regarding Jae's question, i thought that was a very cruel thing that the father said to his child. i can certainly see some 'daddy issues' in her future.

the 2nd wife certainly does seem like a character. honestly she's getting under my skin quite a bit. she knowingly put herself (and an innocent child) into this situation and now she seems to be upset/vindictive about it. i've seen similar situations play out the same way in real life and i have little sympathy for adults who put themselves in situations like this.

interested to see what happens from here

I agree with your pov Lindor...

Jae' wrote: "Chapter 1: “You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody.
Your other wife and your other girl is a secret?,..."

Yeah, he was wrong for that.

All done, can't wait to discuss it further with you all!!!

how do you ladies do the "hide spoilers" trick?

Click on the (some html is ok) above the comment box

thanks beverly. jae you are pointing out all of the classic lines from the story. i highlighted that "have your man or have your pride" statement also. i think that many women make that sacrifice even today (although i think the word pride could be replaced with "dignity". you can be accused of having too much pride. dignity not so much)

Lindor wrote: "thanks beverly. jae you are pointing out all of the classic lines from the story. i highlighted that "have your man or have your pride" statement also. i think that many women make that sacrific..."

lol.. Yes, I try not to get carried away with that. How are you enjoying the book?

Beverly wrote: "Jae' wrote: "Chapter 1: “You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody.
Your other wife and your other girl ..."

(view spoiler)[ Dana's parents were very selfish. James seemed to take advantage of all the women in his life. I could not believe that they allowed him to get away with it for so long. I have not finished the book yet but I am hoping that things change in the end. (hide spoiler)]

Jae' wrote: "Chapter 7: "Save me James, I dare you." (lol) love it!"

This scene was funny. She had him.

i'm annoyed at all of the adults in the story so far. james, raleigh, dana's mom, dana's grandfather???!!!

I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

(view spoiler)[I must say I'm doing some eye rolling right now. I guess I am not too surprised about Laverne's decision but I would certainly love to read a novel where the woman doesn't ultimately decide to just accept what her partner has done and the man's only punishment is living with guilt he may or may not feel. I did really feel for the girls though. As always the kids are left to suffer for the poor decisions of their parents (hide spoiler)]

Lindor wrote: "I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

[spoilers removed]"

Lindor, I definitely feel you on the eye rolling... I had so many emotions and thoughts while reading the book... And the worst paret of all is that I know selfish people like that in real life(not the biggimist part). It's amazing how people put themselves in situations and then become mad at the world or try to play the victim role when it's not going their way...Ugh!

Lindor wrote: "I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

[spoilers removed]"

I am about 80% done.

What do you think of the author's writing style?

Lindor wrote: "i'm annoyed at all of the adults in the story so far. james, raleigh, dana's mom, dana's grandfather???!!!"

Yes, I too was annoyed at the adults in this story.

Denise wrote: "What do you think of the author's writing style?"

When the book was released the author was on several shows promoting the book. The call-ins, and a lot of responses were from people thanking her for writing this book as they "hidden" children and was glad to see that they were not alone and/or were given a voice in literature.

I think writing the story from the pov of children worked very well as it helped to show a child's reaction/affect to adult decisions.

I also liked that we heard Dana's voice first and then the other daughter's. I think this worked better than if we had alternating chapters from the beginning.

Beverly wrote: "Denise wrote: "What do you think of the author's writing style?"

When the book was released the author was on several shows promoting the book. The call-ins, and a lot of responses were from peopl..."

I also liked the way that she told the story from each of the daughters' point of view. It made it very easy to fill in the gaps and answer a lot of questions.

Do you feel that Silver Sparrow was a good title for this book?

Lindor wrote: "I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

[spoilers removed]"

I really didn't like the way that things ended either. Do you think that the time period that the parents grew up in played a role in the outcome of this book?

Denise wrote: "Lindor wrote: "I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

[spoilers removed]"

I really didn't like the way that things ended either. Do you think that the time period that the parents gr..."

Yes, I believe the time period played a role in the book. But I also think that what we see/observe when young influence how we behave when older (adults).

Beverly wrote: "Denise wrote: "Lindor wrote: "I am done now. How is everyone else coming along?

[spoilers removed]"

I really didn't like the way that things ended either. Do you think that the time period that..."

I agree. I think that what these girls went through will definitely have an impact on them as adults.

i feel like nearly everyone did wrong by their kids in this book. gwen used dana as a "seconndary spouse" in my eyes. gwen's dad was just totally wrong marrying a woman younger than his daughter yet not being able to forgive his daughter even years later. raleigh's mom abandoning him. laverne had some questionable moments with chaurisse as well

the only people who didn't fit that characterization was Ms. Bunny and Dana when she eventually had a child.

The scene that Dana recalled from the garage with James was just pathetic. James had 4 women who wanted nothing than to be loved by him and in the end he couldn't do right by not one of them.

I think this is the first book that this group has read where our rating are all over the map.

I also thought it was really sad that dana and chaurisse weren't able to form a bond in the end. It was pretty telling when Dana said "you only lie to people you love." ouch...on many different levels

Lindor wrote: "I also thought it was really sad that dana and chaurisse weren't able to form a bond in the end. It was pretty telling when Dana said "you only lie to people you love." ouch...on many different l..."

Yeah, that remark was so cold. I was really hoping that that was the reason why Chaurisse stopped by to see Dana in the end but boy was I wrong.

Lindor wrote: "i feel like nearly everyone did wrong by their kids in this book. gwen used dana as a "seconndary spouse" in my eyes. gwen's dad was just totally wrong marrying a woman younger than his daughter ..."

The kids in this book seemed to be nothing more that pawns. Dana seemed to be the only one who was trying to break the mold. She seemed to want things to change.

After reading the book, did you have any questions that were left unanswered?

Which character did you disliked the most? Which character did you like the most?

i liked dana...she was probably the only person that i liked. i felt sorry for laverne and chaurisse. i pretty much disliked everyone else.

the only question that i had was what ms. bunny said to james during their final chat. when james wondered if dana told ms. bunny that he was going to pay for her college fees, it made me wonder if ms. bunny said something harsh to him

Lindor wrote: "i liked dana...she was probably the only person that i liked. i felt sorry for laverne and chaurisse. i pretty much disliked everyone else.

the only question that i had was what ms. bunny said ..."

I would have liked to know how things turned out for Dana and her daughter.

what made you give it a 2 rating? was it just the ending or other things as well?

i felt for the characters, but i think i had higher expectations based on the rave reviews i'd seen.

Lindor wrote: "I also thought it was really sad that dana and chaurisse weren't able to form a bond in the end. It was pretty telling when Dana said "you only lie to people you love." ouch...on many different l..."

I did not necessarily think it was sad that Dana and Chaurisse did not form a bond. They were really two different people/personalities. Maybe later in life when they were both older and add more life experience. But right now they would both be reminded of painful periods in their life and each needed to get past that hurt.

Lindor wrote: "i feel like nearly everyone did wrong by their kids in this book. gwen used dana as a "seconndary spouse" in my eyes. gwen's dad was just totally wrong marrying a woman younger than his daughter ..."

Yes, the ratings are all over. But I do think this is a good book discussion book. I think there are some books that make for good discussions - and that does not necessarily mean that you have to "like" the book or even give the book a good rate.

And I also believe that because a book is an enjoyable read that it makes for a good book discussion book.

This was not a fav read for me because I am not a big fan of "coming-of-age-stories. But I thought it was well-written, well-paced, good character development, and in many ways portrayed a situation that is real too many people. I also thought the value of this book is showing the effect on the situation on the children who had no play in the discussion. Usually in a story of this type it focuses on the adults.

I have also said that being a parent is one of the most difficult jobs as you have understand that as an adult your actions effect someone else.

I recently adopted a kitten and I had more paperwork to fill out to show and signoff on that I would be responsible and am financially able to take care of the kitten. No certainly asked me those questions or qualified me when I was pregnant. :)

So I just finished the book yesterday. I felt like the book had tons of potential but I don't feel like we got to really understand any of the characters. Why was Raleigh so ready to take a back seat to James in everything and keep his secrets? I love both of my brothers but I don't think I'd basically forego having a life so they could just do what they want. I know we didn't get that because Dana and Chaurisse wouldn't know but that was one of the main things for me especially after he (view spoiler)[ wanted to marry Gwen (hide spoiler)]. Also, (view spoiler)[ Gwen's entire speech to Chaurisse about how she's not innocent and that Dana had been taking a backseat to her for her entire life (hide spoiler)] completely rubbed me the wrong way. How can you blame someone...the only person really that had no clue what was going on?

i thought the fact that raleigh asked gwen to mary him was very weird also. he and james grew up like brothers. no bonds were really sacred in this book.

the speech that laverne gave to chaurisse regarding george burns and "acting like a wife" was unfortunate also. it kind of reminds me of that beyonce song ("ring the alarm"?) where the wife thinks more about how the mistress will benefit if she lets her husband go instead of thinking of how much she will suffer by keeping him. i totally understand that laverne's character would probably be in her 50's or 60's now but that logic hasn't completely disappeared.

to each their own though

Lindor wrote: "what made you give it a 2 rating? was it just the ending or other things as well?

i felt for the characters, but i think i had higher expectations based on the rave reviews i'd seen."

I did not like how the book ended but I also thought that it was a bit slow moving. I guess I was also expecting more.

Lindor wrote: "what made you give it a 2 rating? was it just the ending or other things as well?

i felt for the characters, but i think i had higher expectations based on the rave reviews i'd seen."

I have a question for the group regarding rating - how do you use rating in deciding if going to read a book? Do you have a higher expectation of a book that gets rave reviews - not sure if I would consider this book getting rave reviews as the GoodReads average for the book = 3.74?

I am very cautious in using ratings/reviews in helping me decide to read a book. Mainly because every book is not for everybody but every book is for someone.
I have a couple of friends who have similar reading tastes as I do and will take their recommendations/ratings into my decision in reading a book.
I also have friends where we do not have similar reading tastes so we usually do not read the same books and just because one of raves about the book or dislikes a book I know that I will probably not have the same reaction to a book. And the times we have read the same book we usually have good discussions on what we liked/didn't like about the book.

i actually learned of this book from the LFPC group on this site. seemed like most folks really enjoyed it and i normally view any rating above a 3.5 as decent.

it's ironic because this is the 2nd book that we've read with this group where most of us didn't really care for a book that has received overall decent ratings from goodreads (dark place was the other)

I also belong to the LFPC and there are certainly times where the opinion/ratings were all over the board and there are times when the group is in general agreement. So I think that is to be expected in a book discussion group.

The ratings in this group = 1 "4", 1 "3" and 3 "2"

Authors have fan bases - some more than others. And fans tend to enjoy the writing style and storylines, etc. so they read and review the books of their fav.

And sometimes it is a catch-22 where a buzz is created around an author and creates more buzz and when you read the book - you think what is this all about. That just happens. One book that got great reviews and stayed on the bestseller list forever - that I did not like was The Help.

Reading is pleasurable activity and a "2" rating tells me it was not a fun activity. Is this just an anomaly? Do we perhaps need to better understand the group likes to read or better yet what the group does not want to read? Why I say that I read just about anything I do know what I do not like to read. :)