Welcome to the Great Mysterious (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (edition 2002)

It's another Lorna Landvik book, and I think it's one of my very favorites. It is very predictable.. from the beginning you pretty much know that Geneva the Broadway actress is going to connect with her Downs' Syndrome nephew in a deep way and fall in love with the small town mailman...but, that's not the great part.

The great part is how it all happens. This isn't one of the amazing surprises that sometimes Landvik throws, instead it's a comfortable stroll through the growing up moments of one very self-centered former Minnesotan!

Geneva is a twin to Ann who has been offered a once in a lifetime 2nd honeymoon to Italy. The only problem is childcare for Rich - the 15year old son. Geneva has been patronizing of Rich, but to think about spending time with him is more than a little daunting. So, she agrees because she likes the thought of doing it - that seems to be more important to her than actually doing it. What she discovers is an amazing young man and his surrounding cast of characters. She becomes friends with Barb and her son Conrad, Rich's best friend. Connie has cerebral palsy and a contagious outlook on life! But, most of all she meets James, the mild mannered mailman next door.

But, my favorite part of this book is the book they reveal...The Great Mysterious. When Ann and Geneva were girls they created a pocket book with a question on each page. Their mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, ant and uncle wrote their answers on slips of paper to be read by the group. I love that idea. Adults and kid answering the questions together. Each sharing their answers and thier ideas to create a great mysterious. The best part is that they continue the practice through this book. I really like this idea... I would love to try it...

Anyway - I would happily recommend this book!

Geneva Jordan, self-centered Broadway actress, agrees to "babysit" her twin sister's seventeen-year-old Down Syndrome son. Ann, the twin, and her husband have decided to take a much needed and long put off vacation to Italy for a month. Aunt Gennie returns to her roots in Minnesota, where she reconnects with her nephew Rich and an interesting assortment of people: Conrad, Rich's best friend, who has CP; his mother, whose outlook on life is amazing; James, a mailman gave up a highly successful corporate life and lifestyle for happiness; and James's 7 year old daughter Natalie.

A middle-aged Broadway star reluctantly agrees to spend a few weeks in rural Minnesota babysitting her twin sister's 13-year-old Down syndrome son while his parents escape for a much-needed holiday. Need I tell you that the Broadway world is bitchy, vapid and shallow and that small-town Minnesota is full of warm-hearted quirkiness? Or that the middle-aged Broadway star feels her life is not complete because she – gasp! – forgot to have children? Throw in a hokey and heartwarming mailman who turns out to be an escapee from the cutthroat corporate world (losing his wife in the process) and you can pretty much guess the rest. Not without its moments of charm, but generally unsurprising. A fairly easy, brainless read, though, which is not, in itself, without its merit. ( )

This was probably my least favorite Lorna Landvik book. I didn't like the characters as well as her others and I felt that the story just didn't go any where. ( )

This was probably my least favorite Lorna Landvik book. I didn't like the characters as well as her others and I felt that the story just didn't go any where. ( )