A gift from a stranger

If you want to give a gift that costs you nothing and brings great pleasure to its recipient, write a book review of a book you enjoyed.   It doesn't matter if it's a world-famous author or a completely unknown author.  Writers want their stories to be read.  The following is a review of my book that someone posted on Amazon.  I've never met her and never communicated with her - 3 degrees of separation here.  She is a friend of my brother's girlfriend, and my brother gave her the book to read.  She is the first person to write a review of my book on Amazon.com.  Thank you, Susan D. Wylie, for such a kind and thoughtful gift! (I would have been pleased even if I hadn't been given five stars.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Transports you straight to Turkey, January 18, 2012

By 

Susan D. Wylie "dwylie_75" (Miami Beach) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of a Summer Village (Paperback)

This is one of those books you read in a matter of a few days because you can't put it down. The character development starts right from the first pages, and I immediately felt like I knew Rachel and Aylin. I couldn't wait to find out what happens to these fast friends. It's a great story about friendship, cultural differences (or- more importantly- similarities). It reminds you of how often we, as Americans, misunderstand different cultures, especially Muslim ones; and how friendship transcends it all. Rachel and Aylin are perfectly awkward yet graceful teenagers on the cusp of adulthood, and when the book ends you find yourself rooting for both of them, and knowing that they will stay friends forever in spite of being thousands of miles apart.

Here's a link to the actual review: First review on Amazon.com