Free Kindle Coming Out ebooks Download
Olympia Crawford Rubinstein has a busy legal career, a solid marriage, and a way of managing her thriving family with grace, humor, and boundless energy. With twin daughters finishing high school, a son at Dartmouth, and a kindergartner from her second marriage, there seems to be no challenge to which Olympia cannot rise. Until one sunny day in May, when she opens an invitation for her daughters to attend the most exclusive coming-out ball in New York–and chaos erupts all around her. One twin’s excitement is balanced by the other’s outrage; her previous husband’s profound snobbism is in sharp contrast to her current husband’s flat refusal to attend. For Olympia’s husband, Harry, whose parents survived the Holocaust, the idea of a blue-blood debutante ball is abhorrent. Her daughter Veronica, a natural-born rebel, agrees– while Veronica’s identical twin, Virginia, is already shopping for the perfect dress. Then there’s Olympia’s ex, an insufferable snob, who sees the ball as the perfect opportunity for a family feud. And amid all the hubbub, Olympia’s college-age son, Charlie, is facing a turning point in his life–and may need his mother more than ever. But despite it all, Olympia is determined to steer her family through the event until, just days before the cotillion, things begin to unravel with alarming speed. From a son’s crisis to a daughter’s heartbreak, from a case of the chicken pox to a political debate raging in her household, Olympia is on the verge of surrender. And that is when, in a series of startling choices and changes of heart, family, friends, and even a blue-haired teenager all find a way to turn a night of calamity into an evening of magic. As old wounds are healed, barriers are shattered and new traditions are born, and a debutante ball becomes a catalyst for change, revelation, acceptance, and love. In a novel that is by turns profound, poignant, moving, and warmly funny, Danielle Steel tells the story of an extraordinary family–finding new ways of letting go, stepping up, and coming out...in the ways that matter most.From the Hardcover edition.
Audio CD
Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (May 29, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739353985
ISBN-13: 978-0739353981
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.1 x 5.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,141,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #16 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Steel, Danielle #762 in Books > Books on CD > Romance #2787 in Books > Books on CD > Literature & Fiction > Unabridged
Meet Olympia, a mother of four, full-time lawyer, devoted wife and daughter-in-law - As sympathetic a character as you can ask for. When she receives an invitation for her twin daughters to be presented at a debutante ball in high-society fashion, she nostalgically thinks back to her own coming out and what an experience it was. With great anticipation, Olympia excitedly resolves to provide the same to them. At this point, the story has some possibilities, and Danielle Steel has already gotten me to both sympathize (if not identify), with her heroine, and enjoy her ability to paint a narrative. I figure I'm getting into maybe a 4-star book.The "conflict" in the story comes from one picket-toting daughter's rebellion and Olympia's current husband Harry's adamant refusal to get involved in elitist high-society. The plot "thickens" by way of a multitude of mundane crises, ranging from chickenpox to lost gloves, which of course can only be dealt with by Olympia. While these crises were realistic, they were not funny, and actually rather depressing. The end, in particular, was anticlimactic.Complete with shallow and unchanging characters, devoid of any passion, and very little humor, we get the sense that Danielle Steel has decided to simply write realism rather than romance. The story seemed so realistic that I actually felt stressed out while reading it. I gave it two stars, because for all its faults, Danielle Steel is still a master wordsmith, and she did start off with a promising story. But what a disappointment from first impressions!Another thing worth mentioning is that this latest book is very short, and in the hardcover goes for under 200 pages.
Oh, please, this book is just ridiculous and trite.Here we have Olympia, the "perfect" modern woman, beautiful, a successful, high powered lawyer, who has the perfect job, gets to take every Friday off even (don't we all?), a perfect and wealthy husband who loves her dearly (but of course), two gorgeous twin teen-age daughters, one a "rebel" interested in protesting everything, the other a social butterfly (would you expect anything else?), a mother in law from heaven (An Auschwitz survivor - to bring a little pathos into the story) who she loves better than her own (dead) mother, (what other kind of mother in law could she be?) and a young, perfect son (naturally). Oh, did I leave anyone out? Let's see - she has her requisite ex-husband who naturally is an alcoholic and a complete jerk (hmm, nothing new there), with his silly new wife (well, did you expect her to be anything else?) , her one black friend (yes, keeping the story "real"), and oh yes, the real point of the "coming out" - not her beautiful twin daughter's coming out ball, but her eldest son admitting to her that he is gay, at the ball, of course, while she gazes up at him proudly with tears in her eyes. (let's bring the storyline right into today's headlines).The book was so filled with cliches it was pathetic.
Pasta (Company's Coming) (Company's Coming) Jewish Americans (Coming to America) (Coming to America (Barron's Educational)) Behold a White Horse: The Coming World Leader: The Coming World Leader Living Proud! Coming Out and Seeking Support (Living Proud! Growing Up Lgbtq) The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance The 8 Laws of Corporate America: The laws to moving through complicated situations and coming out on top. Coming Out Figure It Out! Human Proportions: Draw the Head and Figure Right Every Time (Christopher Hart Figure It Out!) Figure It Out! Drawing Essential Poses: The Beginner's Guide to the Natural-Looking Figure (Christopher Hart Figure It Out!) Public Art (Now): Out of Time, Out of Place Out of Sight - Out of Mind: Declutter and Organize Every Facet of Your Life Anne Of Green Gables Press-Out Model House (Press Out Activity Book) Storytime with Daniel: Thank You Day; Friends Help Each Other; Daniel Plays Ball; Daniel Goes Out for Dinner; Daniel Feels Left Out; Daniel Visits the Library (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) Fold-out Bikes, plus 50 big stickers, Giant Wall Chart & Poster. (Fold-Out Poster Sticker Books) Watch Out! At Home (Watch Out! Books) Ant Cities (Lets Read and Find Out Books) (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Big Yellow Sunflower (Fold Out and Find Out) How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) Insight Out: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World Facing Your Giants: The God Who Made a Miracle Out of David Stands Ready to Make One Out of You
