True Colors

Wat zijn ze toch mooi de boeken van Kristin Hannah,ik heb er nog niet eentje gehad die me niet beviel.
Ook dit boek was weer heerlijk genieten van de familie band van de drie zussen.
De vader oke, een geval apart,maar de haat liefde verhouding in dit boek was erg goed neergezet.
Dalles een hele stoere man met een klein hartje en word beschuldigd,maar is dit terecht?ik zou zeggen gewoon lezen.

This one is for girls with sisters and horses. Surprisingly, though it’s from 2009, it felt much older, especially in its lack of commentary on the systemic racism in the US justice system or the overt racism of a small white town. In classic Kristin Hannah fashion, she still managed to pull some tears from me, but overall, the story felt too long and repetitive. The writing is undeniably engaging, her ability to keep you turning pages is part of what makes her books so popular. As the fourth book of hers I’ve read, this one is already the least memorable. The story focuses on two of the three sisters, but the third is almost completely sidelined. The constant miscommunication and lack of meaningful conversations between the sisters show more became tiresome. The sections written as letters from a child’s perspective felt forced and fake, making them almost unreadable. If you find yourself in a cabin without internet and this is on the shelf, it’s worth picking up, but I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to buy it. show less

True Colors is the story of loss and love, loyalty and faith. The three Grey sisters have learned to depend on each other since the loss of their mother many years before, until a stranger comes to town... Unlike the other residents of their small town, Vivi Ann Grey disregards the racial differences, befriending and then marrying Dallas Raintree, despite her father's venimous disapproval. When Dallas is arrested for the murder of a woman known to be his friend, the town residents say they knew he was no good. Only Vivi Ann is sure of her husband's innocence... but can she prove it?

Kristin Hannah handles the issues of racial discrimination and unjust imprisonment in a tasteful manner. This well-written novel is a page-turner from the show more beginning, with just enough suspense and action that keeps a reader on the edge of his or her seat, waiting to discover what happens next. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this entire novel, but from about the middle on through to the end, I literally could not put it down... It has been many years since I stayed up all night reading 200 straight pages... but with True Colors, there was no choice... I just couldn't stop.

True Colors is recommended for all readers age 17 and up who enjoy a well-written and suspense filled story. This review has been simultaneously published on Dragonviews and on LibraryThing. show less

Handling & Tema : 4/5
Karaktärerna: 3/5
Miljöbeskrivning: 4/5
Språk och berättarkonst 4/5

Sanningens Ögonblick är egentligen ingen originell bok men det är exakt därför den är bra, man får vad man förväntar sig. Miljön är en ranch i Texas, det är hästar, cowboys och rodeo turneringar ett liv som jag har drömt om som liten flicka.
Handling är relationen mellan tre systrar som älskar varandra och har växt upp utan mamma och med en far som aldrig har slutat känna stark sorg efter henne.
Systrarna är olika till både sätt och utseende, under årens lopp har de fått lägga negativa känslor åt sidan för att hålla ihop men under ytan bubblar det och när Luke dyker är han den katalysator som behövs för att vinden ska show more vända.

Jag älskar böcker människo öden som man får följa, om starka kvinnor och relationer. Kärlek, vänskap, svek och lögner! Spelar ingen roll att jag har läst om det tidigare, jag tröttnar aldrig. show less

Kristin Hannah is one of the (too many) authors on my to-read pile. I have a copy of a couple of her books, but fate has always intervened to prevent me from getting the book off the shelf. I was determined for this not to be third time unlucky when I was offered True Colours to read and review. Now of course, I am annoyed at myself for not reading Kristin Hannah sooner! This novel combined family relationships, love, suspense and some crime into an unexpected, riveting read. I think 2017 is going to be my year of the ‘new to me and absolutely fantastic’ author.

Initially, I wasn’t sure where this novel was going to head. It opens with the aftermath of the death of the Grey girls’ mother and then moves forward into the early show more 1990s where the girls are grown up. Aurora married a nice but boring doctor, Winona became a lawyer and Vivi Ann continues to work on the family ranch, Water’s Edge. (That really threw me having a farm so close to the beach – I’m more used to farms being inland and the ocean being a day trip away). Vivi Ann rides horses in barrel races to try and earn money for the struggling farm, but she seems to be fighting a losing battle. I began to wonder at this point if the story would be all about horses (people who know me would know that I like my horsepower wrapped in an engine). Luckily, for me, it wasn’t. It’s not a spoiler to say that the ranch begins to see better times, although both Vivi Ann and Winona are struggling. Winona is desperate for her father’s approval, which Vivi Ann seems to receive casually. To top it off, Vivi Ann is now dating Winona’s high school crush. How can sisters be so lucky and unlucky?

Unfortunately this is only the start of the Grey girls’ troubles. Winona hires an outsider, Dallas, to work on the farm and Vivi Ann sees far more in him than the others, despite being engaged to someone else. But it’s going to be a long hard road to happiness for the girls, if it comes at all...

One of the major plot points is unexpected and carries strongly through the latter half of the book, so I won’t be discussing it here. I felt that this lifted the book from a nice story about sisters and their lives to a gripping read that takes the story outside of the small town. It was very well done emotionally, tugging at the heartstrings of the reader, yet I was never entirely sure who was guilty… The whole story is very well written, right down to the mentions of the 1990s fashion (hairspray, shoulder pads and the like). I quite enjoyed this, and it was nice to not have the characters connected to their phones for the entire novel. It forced them to talk things out or on the other side, go to extraordinary lengths to avoid each other.

Each of the sisters goes through her own personal turmoil in various degrees of detail in True Colours and it’s interesting to compare them. Winona feels left out for many reasons – she’s not married, she thinks she’s fat and ugly and her career away from the ranch makes her feel alone and estranged from the rest of the family. She tries to cover it by being superior, but it often flies back in her face. Vivi Ann knows she has the love of her family, but is determined to stay independent and go through with life choices others don’t agree with. Aurora is much more of a background character – she’s sweet and dependable but the big events of her life don’t get much page time compared with the demands of her sisters. I wondered sometimes when she would get her chance to shine away from holding up Vivi Ann emotionally and doing Winona’s make up!

Overall, I really enjoyed this introduction to Kristin Hannah’s work. She can plot exceptionally well and bring her characters into the reader’s heart easily. Next stop, my bookshelf for more!

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

For more reviews, visit http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

This was one of those love to hate reads for me. I loved every minute, but I was angry so many times. I love how Kristin Hannah can pull out so many emotions from you, and this was no exception. The sisters relationships are complicated, and you there will be times you love them and hate them.

I put this on audiobook when I was driving for a work trip. I ended up listening to it that night as well, as I needed to finish and to find out what happened. I did want more from the ending as it was a little rushed where other parts dragged out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this!

I've just finished reading True Colors by Kristin Hannah and all I can say is, I wish there were more... I've been a fan of Hannah's since I read her book, Firefly Lane, a few years back because her books always leave me thinking and challenging myself to do more.

Set on a picturesque horse farm in Washington State, True Colors follows the lives of the Grey sisters who were devastated by their mother's death while they were still young as they navigate through the haze of their father's distant affections.

Winona, the oldest, is overweight and most starved for her father's attention. She's an over~achieving lawyer who has never really felt at home on her family's horse ranch.

The middle sister, Aurora, is the peacekeeper in the family. show more While trying to keep everyone else happy, she neglects her own needs to the detriment of her marriage.

Vivi Ann, the youngest sister, is the star of the family. Everything comes easily to her but then she loses it all in a matter of moments.

This book is part love story, part crime novel and full on family drama. The sisters' relationship is torn apart when Vivi Ann's husband is accused of murder and Wynona refuses to help in his defense out of her own selfish reasons. For years, Wynona watches as her sister wastes away thinking of the man and the love that she has lost until one day she thinks she may be wrong about his guilt or innocence.

One of the things that appealed to me about this book was the relationship between the sisters. I have two sisters and we, like the Greys, have had our ups and downs, so I was able to identify with the characters and their need to support each other (and to also be right). Hannah did a wonderful job of showing how superficial forgiveness can leave gaping holes in relationships. While the women seem to be getting along on the surface, there's so much tension flowing under the surface that it's almost palpable.

The thing I liked least about the story was that Aurora's story seemed to be neglected or, at the very least, an afterthought. Her story definitely could have been more fully developed. For example, her marriage falls apart but there really isn't any discussion about how this affects her or her children or what becomes of her husband ~ do they share custody, did he leave town, what happened?

One of the biggest lessons I learned from reading this novel is how quickly an innocent person can be convicted based on eyewitness testimony, prejudice and faulty DNA testing. In fact, this novel directly relates to the Innocence Project, an organization that is dedicated to exonerating wrongully convicted people through the use of DNA testing. Although I'm aware of some of the injustices of the criminal courts, I never realized how easy it is for someone to get caught up in the system. This project has definitely made me rethink my views on capital punishment. show less