The Magic of Ordinary Days: A Novel Paperback – August 30, 2011

I saw from reading some reviews that many did not like the ending. I did. It is our history and you cannot sugar coat it. But you can learn from it. We no longer put people in internment camps because of their race. FDR did it because of fear and pressure. We continue to grow as a human race, and hopefully for the better. I can say that I did not know that we also kept Nazi prisoners on American soil, so that was new to know and now I wish to know more about how and why we did.This book has some great character studies and I just loved it. I could definitely relate to what life is like out in the country versus the city. The movie was so good that I just had to buy the book--glad I did!

I was so excited to receive this in the mail. I love how respectful the author treated this slow burning love story and giving the characters such dignity. I like the nod to history, but how I wish there was a lot less of their story line and more of the main characters growth and details. Maybe that's just the romantic in me. However, I would likely re-read this in the next few months. It's so good I couldn't put it down and finished it in less than a day!

At first glance THE MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS is a love story. Of the surface it relates the story of Livvy, who is pregnant and forced to marry a man that she does not know. The story focuses on the evolution of their relationship and the changes in Livvy's life. Her husband Ray, has the very appropriate last name of Singleton, because he is indeed a single, solitary man.But on a broader scale, there are a number of underlying themes that the reader should be aware of. The first is the responsibility that people must take for their own acts and how what seem to be casual decisions about relationships can alter a person's life.Issues of family relationships are also brought out in the book. Most people will identify in some way with the relationships between the siblings. Women will contemplate what they would have done had they been Livvy - pregnant and without a husband in the early 1940's - and how their own father would have reacted. The underlying issues of religion and a small community vs a large city are also present.Author Ann Howard Creel masterfully deals with a subject that is popular among historians and this is women on the home front during the time of war. She also deals with men, such as Ray who does not go to war but still deals with issues of guilt.Creel's handling of the issues of Japanese interment is excellent. It is a subject that many readers, espcially young readers will know little about. So her even handed descriptions are informative. In addition, most Americans have little knowledge of the German and Italian POW's that came to America.The Hallmark Hall of Fame did a wonderful job with this novel, following almost exactly as Creel wrote it, although the did not use the first person. However, their ending was probably more acceptable to a general audience. The Japanese women in the novel to not fare as well as they did on TV. The sad part is that Rose and Lorelie were victimized by being put in the camp and then made bad decisions, just like Livvy, based on their desire to be loved.Although this book is well suited for young readers, and could be a useful tool in an educational environment, it is also an excellent read for readers of any age. War has many ripple effects on the society and Creel deals with many of them. This book gives much to reflect on. I'm just glad that Hallmark brought it to light for millions of readers.

I would say the plot is a simple one, the book isn't overly complicated or dramatic, but that is part of what makes it so wonderful. It's very much the day in and day out of life that the book captures and the love that grows slowly over simple daily tasks between the two characters. The book takes place in the 1940's and is very believable. There's a movie also from this book that Hallmark made. I would actually recommend watching the movie first which I know usually you don't want to do that, but I did it that way and really enjoyed when I read the book I could visualize Ray and Livy's house (where most the scenes take place both in book and movie) and I could picture the actors from the movie while I read the book.

I should say at the outset that the Hallmark movie based on this book is not s typical Hallmark movie. It has more depth—probably because of the book.I have loved the Hallmark movie for years, so the last time I watched it, I decided to read the book (after all, the book is ALWAYS better).What had drawn me to the movie/book was the characters; the simple, yet magical, story; and the actors (great casting). Most of the book was as good as (albeit slightly different from) the movie. It filled in a lot of the background, and I liked the historical details. But the ending was MUCH different in ways I found significant.I only gave the book three stars because I thought the book ending was HORRIBLE. At the core of it was a tragedy, with racist elements (and perhaps even elements of mysogyny and paternalism) that disrespected all the characters, but esp. the three main female characters.One could say Hallmark altered the ending to give it the typical rosey Hallmark ending. However, I think the Hallmark movie fixed a problem with the book, was more true to the characters, AND was more respectful not only of the characters, but also of the love story at its core.When I got to the part of the book where it became clear that tragedy was going to be unavoidable, I was so disappointed I could hardly read on. But I did. The book is in first person narrative, and the last few paragraphs are more true to the story, and satisfying. HOWEVER, the last paragraph is an abomination and seems tacked on. It could easily be deleted.