Thursdays At Eight

Thursdays at eight is about 4 good friends, of all different ages who meet through a journal-writing class(at the beginning of some the chapters are the journal entries written by each of them), and when the class ends, they decide to continue getting together once a week for Breakfast.(Debbie Macomber actually has her own Thursday morning Breakfast club with her good friends and they meet at eight o'clock too!) They are all at different ages in their lives. Karen is in her 20's and is into drama and acting. She sometimes has a hard time fitting in with her mom and sister. Julia is married and has 2 teenage children. She gets pregnant and her children and other family members aren't too happy about this news. Liz has recently lost her husband. She wants to live life to it's fullest and not let time pass her by. She has met a new guy through work, who eventually realizes his feelings for her long before she realizes her feelings for Him. Clare has two boys and is also divorced as a result of her husband's cheating. She has a lot of bitter feelings toward him and especially his new girlfriend. All of these ladies pick a word as their "motto" for the Year:
Claire- faithful
Liz- Time
Karen- acceptance
Julia- gratitude

My thoughts on Thursdays At Eight:

This is my Review that I did for my Debbie Macomber Reading Group

Who was your favorite character? I didn't have a "favorite". There were different things about each of them that I liked. I got a big kick out of Karen though...I think because she was closest to my age I probably related to her most. Who was your least favorite character? I didn't really have a least favorite character either. Clair kinda got on my nerves at times though.

Did you feel that Clair has the right to be as bitter as she was towards her ex-husband and why? This is kind of a hard one.....as a child of divorced parents (my parents situation wasn't like this though) I wish she would've thought of her sons' feelings more. It made me mad how she wanted to make that schedule for the games....think how big a soccer field is...it's not like they had to sit right next to each other. My parents got divorced before I started schooll....and there were a lot of school functions both of them came to....sometimes it was awkward, but they made it work....they even sat by each other at my high school graduation. And I don't think they should've put the kids in the middle. I'm glad everyone came around though right before Michael Died.

Have you ever had a group that got together, such as the women in Thursday's at Eight? Tell us about it. No I haven't, but I'd sure LOVE TO someday....I wish all of us lived closer together.....I feel like I know ya'll so well already and I think about all of you A LOT doing the day. When Julie found out she was pregnant, did you feel that she was selfish for not wanting to be? How did you feel about her kids and their reactions? Not really....I think it would've been selfish to terminate the pregnancy or something like that, but she wasn't prepared to be pregnant and have a newborn around....they seemed like they were pretty set in a comfortable routine and lifestyle. I'm surprised her kids weren't more excited. I won't say they were selfish, because again I don't think they were prepared for such a huge change like that. Both of my parents had kids when they remarried and I LOVED it.....I'm 25-almost 26, and my mom and stepdad have a 12 year old daughter, and my dad and stepmom have a 8 year old son and a 7 year old daughter. I was SOOOOOO excited when my mom and stepmom each got pregnant....but they had planned to have kids when they got married, so I was prepared. Plus, with Julia's kids...I knew that once they saw the baby, everything would change...I mean, who could refuse a sweet little baby....especially the daughter.

If you were Karen, would you have handled her situation that she had w/her sister and mother differently? Why or why not? No....I'm kinda like that too.....my older sister was a straight A student, always did very well in school....then I came along and did NOT do well in school. My parents would deny this, but I always felt like I was being compared to my sister and I always felt like I had to live up to her high standards. I get the feeling that people look down on me sometimes, for not achieving as much as my sister did...even though I've been through far more in my life than my sister has. Sometimes it seems like people pay more attention to what I HAVEN'T accomplished than what I HAVE accomplished. I'm close to my mom for the most part, but her and my sister definitely have a closer relationship in my opinion.

What were your thoughts on Liz? Liz was probably my second favorite. I totally understood how she felt in the beginning of the book. And I'm glad she found happiness....That boyfriend of hers though....WHEW!!! He got on my NERVES at first...but he turned out to be very sweet....and in the end I could tell how much he really loved her.

Did this book change the way your view your own relationships? I don't know....I don't think so.

I think Debbie Should write a sequel though...called "Thursdays At Eight: A Year Later" to update on how everyone's doing.....she could tell us if Liz and Sean ever got married, How Clare and her kids are doing since Michael's death- Clare even mentions that the kids are getting ready to go off to college- perhaps how Clare's doing living alone.....how Julia and her family are doing...especially the baby...and how Karen and Glen are enjoying married life....maybe have her get pregnant....LOL.

Started 8/19/07

Finished 8/22/07