Jana Richman

I've had THE LAST COWGIRL ON MY shelf for five years now, and have begun reading it on three separate occasions. This time I made it over a hundred pages in, trying my best to get interested in the story of a rather fragmented family uprooted from a humdrum small town life when the father gets tired of teaching and chases his dream of being a cowboy, buying a rundown ranch in the Utah foothills. The family is "sort of Mormon." The story is narrated by Dickie, the youngest child, who hates leaving her comfortable life in town, and resists the ranch life, but turns out to be pretty good on a horse. The story jumps back and forth in time, from her childhood to her single, adult life as a newspaper reporter in Salt Lake City forty-odd years later. I could give more details, but don't want to spoil the story for someone who might actually want to finish it. But I don't. Want to finish it. Because I just couldn't make myself care about this family, and the plot was so slow-moving as to literally put me to sleep. Enough said. I'm sure some readers will like this book, but not me. Not recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (más)

I have to admit, I saw the ending coming long before I got there, but that doesn't make the journey getting there a bad thing. This is essentially a generational family drama told from the perspective of four different women. As it uses the first-person present tense narrative style, there are some elements of it that are somewhat forced, by necessity. Yet, you do get involved in the story and characters, and the ending is darn close to perfect. I would have far more to say, but I forgot to write a review for a while, so the specific details and feelings have faded a bit. Still, though I wouldn't have picked it up by choice (it was assigned reading for my class), it definitely turned out to be worth reading, especially if it sounds good to you at all.… (más)

The three women central in the book – Nell, Kate and Cassie – are all struggling with their own demons. Nell and her daughter Kate have a strained relationship and Kate has repeated the pattern with own daughter Cassie. The novel is told in first person narration, which alternates between characters. The title of each chapter is the name of whomever is telling the story for that chapter. This worked well to develop the character of each woman and give insight in to the choices they made in their lives that led them to the point they are now.

Even though Nell and Kate aren’t that likeable, I was still able to muster up some sympathy for them. It was especially hard with Kate. I just wanted to shake her at times. I think it’s a sign of good writing when the author can stir up emotions in the reader. However, I thought the family secret driving Nell and Kate’s relationship was fairly obvious. I feel like this particular plot twist has been used several times before. That being said, I still enjoyed this book as a character study of the three main women and an exploration of their relationships with each other.… (más)