Alice's Tulips

I so enjoyed this book. It was my first of Dallas's books and I just couldn't wait to read more. It was such a satisfying and engrossing story. The historical background was facinating as I love to learn about the civil war. The main character, Alice, was so honest one couldn't help but love her. A story of integrity and friendship, love and tolerance. Very genuine and beautiful. I love the tender and ever-changing relationship between Alice and her mother-in-law. Although some may feel there are too many events in some of Dallas's books to make them believable I disagree. That is what makes them so entertaining and delightful. This book is one of my all time favorites, and I read a lot! A true love story of dedication and sacrifice. Wonderful--I will be sharing it with all my reading buddies.

Once again, Dallas has done a great job fleshing out realistic and memorable characters, from naive, optimistic Alice to her bristly mother-in-law to uneducated, determined Annie, whose path crosses that of the Bullocks when the war devastates her home. The story pulls you in thoroughly, and won't let go until you've read to the end.

This book is really captivating. I have to admit I did just what you are not supposed to do. I saw the cover and became intrigued.After reading the first chapter or letter in the store I thought " Well I guess I better pay for this and get home and read the rest." I devoured it and immedietly got online to find out what else Sandra Dallas had written. I was not disappointed in them either. What a treasure! I could not wait to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.

Alice's Tulips was not the first book I've read by Sandra Dallas, but it is definitely my favorite. The book is a series of letters, most of them from one sister to another, who are separated when the younger sister marries and moves to an isolated farm in Iowa. The younger sister, only 16, writes the sort of callow, self-centered and judgemental letters that only a sheltered 16-year-old could write, but she has a kind heart and a good brain, and it is a true joy to watch her learn the sometimes painful lessons of adulthood, especially in the trying times of the Civil War. The characters were all so real, so well-defined and true that it was almost impossible not to think of them as real people, and to think about them long after I completed the book.I recommend this book for quilters, for readers of women's fiction, and for anyone who enjoys Oprah's picks but who also likes a novel that ends on a positive note.

A word of warning for anyone considering reading a Sandra Dallas book....Once you start, you will ignore everything else until you finish the book! "Alice's Tulips" is no exception. Following the life of newlywed Alice Bullock, who has left a more comfortable life to live in Slatyfork, and the life of a farmer's wife. Her husband joins the Union army and leaves Alive with Mother Butler, her plain speaking (if she speaks at all)harworking mother-in-law. Life is not easy foe a young bride, missing her husband, the comfortable town life she once led, and beginning to face the harsh realities of farm life. The townfolk of Slatyfork barely tolerate her:they accept her only because of her quilting abilities, and the only solace Alice find is in her letters to her sister Lizzie. This is a very fast paced book, character driven, and written in a most engaging manner. In the letters Alice writes, we are able to see her mature as a woman and really begin to face the life and changes the Civil War brings to her and those she loves. A wonderful book.