I think this may be one of the worst science fiction book I've ever read/ listened to.
"The Man" referenced in the title is Douglas Garnett a young 30I think this may be one of the worst science fiction book I've ever read/ listened to.
"The Man" referenced in the title is Douglas Garnett a young 30-something neuroscientist who finds out he has terminal cancer so he and his team decide to transplant his brain in to the body of a white (Douglas is black) high school football star named Sammy Sturgeon who is brain dead. So they convince Sammy's parents to let them take the body for "tests" (no permission asked to remove his brain) and find and old hospital which is about to be razed to perform the brain transfer at. What? There are fully functional abandoned hospitals out there that a person can break in to? The surgery is successful of course and Douglas begins to live his life as a high school football player with the Sturgeon family.
The white football player is a no-good racist bully who is dating the most beautiful girl in the high school who already aborted two of Sammy's babies. The Sturgeon family is a bunch of racists and the dad is richer than rich due to illegal gun sales to blacks. The racist local cop is a best friend who comes over for dinner and spews racist comments. Every single scenario in this book has racial overtones to it and is over-the-top unbelievable. The characters are cardboard thin and are all cartoonish stereotypes. Even Garnett's family is unpleasant. There wasn't a likeable person in this thing. I guess the point of this was that we were suppose to root for Sammy as Garnett changes him from the inside. This whole thing was so implausible - even for science fiction.
The aforementioned story was about two-thirds of this. The other thirds consisted of monologues spouted by the various characters about things having to do with racism: the treatment of Kaepernick, death of George Floyd, the racist "Star Spangled Banner" and its racist author Francis Scott Key, gentrification, white violence against asians, racist police, CRT, COVID and race, and other topics having to do with race relations I can't remember.
I've giving this one star because of the quality of the science fiction story....more
Wakers checks all the YA tropes and it just wasn't for me. The more I listened the more I didn't like it but I stuck it out to the end because I was cWakers checks all the YA tropes and it just wasn't for me. The more I listened the more I didn't like it but I stuck it out to the end because I was curious and that's what I do.
Our story opens with teenaged Laz waking up inside some sort of pod in an abandoned city in North Carolina. He has no idea why he's there or how long the people have been gone. There is no fresh food so he eats out of old cans he finds in supermarkets and tries to avoid the wild animals and feral dogs who are after him. But danger doesn't matter, you see, because Laz is a side-stepper and can, at any time, slide in to an alternate reality in which there isn't a bear, or didn't have an accident, etc. So he's never, ever, *really* in danger. Well, Laz finds one other living person in a pod, a young teenaged lady. You can guess where this all goes.
I was surprised how boring the slowly unraveled science-fiction mystery was to me. We ultimately find out who Laz really is (but why was he abandoned with no food or protection?!?!) and what his purpose is. I have so many questions about so much that happened in this novel. So much just didn't make any sense to me.
In true YA fashion many adults are dumb-dumbs (Laz's step-dad's nickname is "Doofus") and the petulant teens tell us all about their "horny" feelings and what kissing is like when the aren't having one of their long, numerous, arguments.
This was written for a fifteen year-old boy and not some old crab cake....more
I love "what-if" stories like these where a single simple decision can decide the path of your entire life because I've had several myself and you jusI love "what-if" stories like these where a single simple decision can decide the path of your entire life because I've had several myself and you just wonder what your life would've been like if you took the other path. For this reason I was really looking forward to reading this novel.
Right off the bat I got a red flag as the prose was so simple that the novel felt like YA, and I'm not a fan of YA. It felt like a version of Replay, written for teens.
The plot is simple enough, a suicide-attempting woman's essence is transported to this library which is full of books that contain different versions of her life, and she can check them out so to speak. The thing that bothered me the most, almost the point of cringing and making me want to put this down, was that every time she jumps in to a new life she has no recollection of the prior history of that life and it just leads to pages of awkwardness. Oh, her family members and few friends are the same, but she literally has no idea which of them are alive or the status of their personal relationships, or what job she does, what key is for what, what any combinations or passwords are, the names of pets or new friends, etc., etc., etc. There was a time she jumped in to a rock concert while playing in a band and didn't know the songs or some of the bandmembers; and one time jumped in to a life where she was about to give a speech in front of thousands of people and had no idea what it was about or who she really was professionally, so she had to research herself on line. I just didn't get it. How was she supposed to determine which life was best for her if during every trial run she was constantly on her heels and faking that she knew what was going on.
Despite my misgivings I ripped right through this book as I wanted to see how it ended up. I was thinking this was going to be a solid 2 star read for me (rating: it was OK) but I rather enjoyed last two books she chose from the library and thought the ending was nice, albeit a little predictable and a little self-helpy, but nice. So 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars....more
This is book two of the so-far fourteen book Middle Falls Time Travel series. The main character in this second book, Michael Hollister, is the antagoThis is book two of the so-far fourteen book Middle Falls Time Travel series. The main character in this second book, Michael Hollister, is the antagonist from the first book, which is why I decided to read on. I had to find out what made this horrible person tick, and how he could possible be redeemed.
I liked this book better than the first book, the redemption was truly worth reading about and satisfying. There were a few happenings in the book that didn't make sense to me, though, and lessened my interest in Michael's story. During the course of the novel he was between eight and eighteen/nineteen and was living this life with full knowledge of his prior lives, world events, etc., but didn't seem to use this knowledge except in excelling in school. Also, his dad was a disgusting individual and sexually abusive to Michael but for some reason Michael didn't feel the need to reveal this horrific criminal behavior to anyone else. Michael decided to get him back in this life by vandalizing one of his beloved personal items. Huh? I just couldn't fathom this. He could've had this dangerous man put away.
Like in the first book there were short interludes with supernatural beings who were monitoring / guiding the lives of the characters. A little bit more was revealed about them in this novel and I'm guessing the purpose and motivations of them will be revealed eventually if I were to continue with the series but for now they were just an uninteresting distraction from the main plot. 2.5 stars. ...more
Great premise. I love books that question how you would live your life again if you had to do it all over, knowing what you know now. This is what hapGreat premise. I love books that question how you would live your life again if you had to do it all over, knowing what you know now. This is what happens to Thomas Weaver, who committed suicide in 2016 in the midst of a depressing life. He wakes up back in 1976, in the midst of his high school years.
I loved the first third of the book when Thomas was trying to find his way around life, trying to remember locker combinations, his schedule, and simply trying to live without cell phones, the internet, cable TV, and everything else we take for granted in the present. Knowing how many of his acquaintances turn out in life was interesting when it came to social interactions. And would trying to change things for the better result in a different future, or are life and world events going to happen regardless?
There were a number of things that turned me off in the middle to latter parts of the book. I just couldn't understand some of Thomas' irrational decisions, especially knowing what he knew. His motivation behind some of these actions was never explained.
Another thing that I didn't get were the short interludes with supernatural beings who were monitoring / guiding the lives of the characters. I'm guessing the purpose and motivations of these beings will eventually be explained if I continue on in the series? For me, it took away from narrative's flow.
What was cool was that Thomas brought back his 2016 point of view on homosexuality, high school bullying, treatment of women, seat belt wearing (ha, ha!) and other issues back to 1976. I remember that time being pretty gross and caveman-ish when it came to these and a number of other issues. Would never go back there myself.
Anyway, I found this to be an OK read. I might choose to read the next installment of this series as the main character is one of the antagonists in Thomas Weaver's life. The whole series is free in Audible if you like these types of books. ...more
I discovered this novel on Audible. It was a freebie and I needed an audiobook to read until my next credit appeared. The title caught my eye. I enjoyI discovered this novel on Audible. It was a freebie and I needed an audiobook to read until my next credit appeared. The title caught my eye. I enjoy time travel and multiple lives stories.
Charles Waters is diagnosed with Stage Four pancreatic cancer and dies 30 days later. He then wakes up in the doctor's office, receiving his diagnosis again. This cycle repeats, like Groundhog Day. How will Charles handle this, as he retains the knowledge of his past lives in each subsequent life? On the outside Charles appears to be very plain and boring. He is a homebody in his undecorated condo, he works as an actuary for an insurance company. He makes no effort to get to know people and keeps to himself. Every week he plans his daily meals, usually consisting of TV dinners.
During his repeated short lives, he gradually becomes a different person. I thought the story telling was really good, the author managed to keep it fresh despite some unavoidable repetition. I really enjoyed how it ended.
This was the twelfth novel in the series, and there are two more after it. Apparently, the novels stand alone and feature entirely different casts. However, there were several short interludes in this novel which featured two otherworldly women who appeared to be observers of some sort and I couldn't fully understand their motivations. The referenced "the machine". Were they on a space ship or something? I'm guessing they appeared in previous novels. Despite this confusion I still really enjoyed this novel and have downloaded several more of Inmon's Middle Falls novels from audible as they were also free.
Interestingly enough, Charles ends up reading the Ken Grimwood novel Replay, which I rated five stars. It was interesting to hear Charles experience with that book.
Four stars, despite my confusion over the strange interludes. ...more
If, Then just never connected with me despite being just the type of book I usually enjoy with themes of parallel universes, time-travel, and a sciencIf, Then just never connected with me despite being just the type of book I usually enjoy with themes of parallel universes, time-travel, and a science-based mystery. The book starts out with four neighbors in a small Oregon mountain town seeing momentary visions of themselves in an alternate reality. It reminded me of Robert J. Sawyer's novel Flashforward which I really enjoyed.
There were a number of things that didn't sit with me, beginning with the loathsome character Ginny, an absentee parent, mean boss, and cheating scoundrel who never considers the affects of her infidelity on her young son and husband. And none of the other characters really connected resonated with me. Additionally, there were number of things took place in the book which made no sense and took me out of the story: a mom locking her newborn in her car in a mountain forest to go look or a tent which she saw on a previous trip up the mountain (who does this?), and someone having a hard time looking for a newly constructed underground bunker in their back yard when there would obviously be signs of excavation or at least new grass growing. There were a number of other what-the-hell moments I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe I'm being too nit-picky?
Towards the end I was beginning to get confused about which reality we were in, dead characters were back alive, an empty house were lived in again, etc. Maybe it would've been easier to follow in print?
I loved the concept of the novel, it kept my attention the whole way through, and I thought the ending was good. The audiobook was narrated by Rebecca Lowman who did a great job. But there were too many things that grated on me and I just can't say I liked it. Sorry - unpopular opinion....more
I've said it a number of times, these books in which a character lives multiple lives fascinate me to no end. I can't help to think back on my own lifI've said it a number of times, these books in which a character lives multiple lives fascinate me to no end. I can't help to think back on my own life and the the pivotal decisions I made which brought me to where I currently am. It all could've been so different!
My Real Children begins and ends with Patricia Cowan in a nursing home in England suffering from dementia while trying to keep straight the memories of her past life (lives). Memories of two sets of families and two world history timelines are swirling around in her head, and she can remember details of both when her memory is functioning. In between the beginning and ending chapters we live both of her lives with her. Her life seems to have diverged when, as a young lady, she was given an ultimatum from her boyfriend that they had to wed "now or never".
I was really impressed how fleshed out the characters were, and there were many; a unique set in each timeline. Both timelines contained alternate world histories, which were also interesting, but confusing. Living in Europe from the 1920s to the 2010s, world events had a major effect on the lives of Pat and her families as you would expect. I believe it would've made more sense to have one timeline consist of real world history which I already knew, so I wouldn't have to wrack my brain to try to remember what was going on in whichever of the two worlds each chapter happened to be set in. My own failing memory would've appreciated getting a break on half of the chapters.
Overall, this was a very well written tale and a fun read. The Audible narrator Alison Larkin was excellent and a pleasure to listen to. 4.5 stars.
Listening to The Versions of Us took a bit more effort than the usual fictional book. It was like Maybe in Another Life in that it was about how persoListening to The Versions of Us took a bit more effort than the usual fictional book. It was like Maybe in Another Life in that it was about how person’s life would be had they made a different choice at a key juncture in their life. It was unlike Maybe in Another Life because there were three concurrent story lines instead of two to try to keep track of. You would think one more story line would not be that much harder to follow but it actually made my brain hurt at times as I tried to figure out what the plot was in the particular version playing. I think it would’ve been easier to digest as a paper book, and perhaps I should’ve made notes, but I was on the go as I listened and this was not an option.
The chapters were each introduced by its version - 1, 2 or 3. As each chapter started I wracked my brain trying to pick up clues in the narrative to what led to the particular story at that point. I really had to think hard at times and sometimes was confused well into a chapter, even in the later chapters. Most of the peripheral characters remained the same through the book but at times new characters were introduced (as families grew over time) in one version and not the other versions which made the book even more complicated.
The story’s main characters are Eva and Jim and the novel starts with their chance meeting on a bike path outside of Cambridge University in 1958. Eva has a boyfriend, David, at this time and he is also an important recurring character throughout the book. From that initial meeting between Jim and Eva the three versions of their lives take root. The novel covers their lives from their teens all the way to their 70s, in current times.
Despite my tone in this review up until this point I actually really liked this book. The writing was excellent, the story lines were not equally interesting but all were intricate and well-paced, and there was always drama. As I’ve said before, I’m fascinated with these “what if” novels. I think we all have moments in life where we make a pivotal decision which sets our future path, and we wonder after the fact what if we would’ve made a different choice. What would my life be like then? Other things I liked about this novel were detailed settings, and really well fleshed out characters. The narration was performed very well by a Clare Corbett and Daniel Weyman who alternated chapters and did a nice job with all the voices, especially the kids. Maybe my favorite thing about the book was how melancholy the tone was throughout. The happy and sad times in Jim and Eva's life were realistically painted and there were many emotional and moving scenes.
I would definitely recommend this book in either format but I think it would be much easier to follow with the paper version, especially if you keep a note which version each chapter is set in. This is a very ambitious work with an interesting premise and I think Laura Barnett really pulled it off. ...more
I'm fascinated with "what if" novels, as in what if some happening in your life was tweaked slightly and your life went in a different direction? For I'm fascinated with "what if" novels, as in what if some happening in your life was tweaked slightly and your life went in a different direction? For me, one such moment was deciding to attend a party I was 50/50 on and ending up meeting my future wife there. What if I had stayed home and never met her? Wow.
The End of Days is based on this premise. It is similar in style to Kate Atkinson's excellent book Life After Life, although I would rank Kate's book higher. The End of Days was written by Jenny Erpenbeck, who was born in East Germany, and is set primarily in Germany, Austria, and the Soviet Union. It was translated from German.
The novel is broken out in to five "books", each one ending with the death of the female main character (unnamed until the last book). In between each book there is an "intermezzo" which further addresses the circumstances of her death in the previous book and then asks "what if an event or two changed and the main character lived on?" I thought this structure worked adroitly.
The narrative also follows the lives of the main character's extended family - notably her parents, sister, and grandparents. Since the main character is born in 1902 and the setting is east and central Europe, the themes are predictably centered on politics and war. The book is full of poignant moments. It's dark. It's unusual. It's moving. The writing is beautiful at times and stark at times. I liked how the author re-introduced some family treasures later in the novel to add continuity and emotion to the story. This is the type of novel I really like.
What I didn't like was that most of the central characters were not named. This became a tad confusing, especially since there were multiple generations. I found myself wracking my brain figure at times trying to figure out whose father or grandfather we were talking about. Also, I thought that Book III dragged a bit, it was my least favorite of the books. I thought the novel finished on a high point. This would be a good reread. I will continue to seek out more novels such as this.
I love the concept of this book and have not seen the movie Sliding Doors so I don’t recall experiencing a story such as this – where a person’s life I love the concept of this book and have not seen the movie Sliding Doors so I don’t recall experiencing a story such as this – where a person’s life unfolds in two parallel story lines after a critical decision is made. This fascinates me because in 1990 I almost chose not to go to the party where I met my wife. If I had not gone to the party I probably wouldn’t have met her and what the hell would my life had been like? I can’t even imagine.
The main character in the book, Hannah, attends a party shortly after moving back to LA where she grew up, and has to choose whether to leave the party with her ex-boyfriend / high school sweetheart or go home with the couple she is staying with temporarily. The plot forks from there. In the next nine or so hours the book takes some interesting and surprising twists and turns, all while Hannah worries over and over about her bun (a high bun), and obsesses constantly about cinnamon rolls. I thought both stories were really well told and moved along at nice clip, my interest never wavered. The characters were all believable. The ending was satisfying. I liked the inherent message that our lives are based on the choices we make, not the invisible guiding hand of fate.
What I didn’t like was that the chapters were pretty short and as I listened to the beginning of each chapter I sometimes had to think to figure out which of Hannah’s lives we were in. Sometimes the author changed the story line at the beginning of a new chapter and sometimes she didn't, and often times Hannah is interacting with the same person in both lives so it was a little confusing. I wonder if the paper book had the chapters marked in some way to let the reader know which life we were in. I thought the narration was great for the most part with a minor criticism that all the men seemed to have the same breathy voice. The book was a little bit too romance-y for me at times but none of the scenes lasted very long due to brisk pace of the book.
Overall, it was pretty good and I give it 3.5 stars. It was a nice, easy listen and a welcome change of pace after having my brain taxed with science (not complaining) in the last two audiobooks I listened to.
I think I will check out the author’s new 2017 book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo....more
I love time travel books and I’m not sure why I waited so long to get to this one, the premise sounded really interesting but it in my Audible TBR forI love time travel books and I’m not sure why I waited so long to get to this one, the premise sounded really interesting but it in my Audible TBR for years.
The book is centered on protagonist Nigel Walden. Since he was fourteen years old, Nigel has experienced "unhappenings" in his life. Past event would change, seemingly randomly, and his reality was always in flux. People such as teachers and friends changed or were replaced by others with no explanation and even personal belongings disappeared or were altered; and only Nigel had memories of the original “happenings”. Some of these changes were traumatic for Nigel, like a longtime girlfriend not knowing him one day, losing his favorite teacher, changes to grades, etc., and gradually the changes caused him to retreat socially as he was sick of being disappointed and having people he liked suddenly missing from his life. It appeared that some outside force was retroactively tweaking his life events. Eventually he is visited by a mysterious lady time traveler who gradually lets him in on some secrets and gives him the means to move through time; and, he eventually meets his future self, also a time traveler, and learns that he eventually becomes a famous developer of time travel technology. Time traveling hijinks ensue. Nigel spends learns that there are consequences of traveling through time – moral dilemmas, unintended consequences, and the temptation to act upon one's personal agendas.
Eventually the novel goes from a purely time travel adventure and mystery to a time travel love story and the tone becomes increasingly dark. The plot is super interesting right off the bat and becomes increasingly more complex and harder to follow. There are 124 (!) chapters plus an epilogue. Each chapter starts with a date stamp which allows the reader to orientate themselves on what part of the narrative they are in, and each chapter ends with a revelation or a cliffhanger. There are some bombshell twists and turns along the way. I can’t say much more without revealing spoilers.
The characters are well developed, and the plot is fast-paced. The premise of the book is based on science fiction but there is really no hard science crammed in to your brain, it’s mostly hand-waving explanations of the time travel technology, which was fine for me. I was immersed in the engaging narrative. Time travel paradoxes are explained in an interesting fashion.
The novel eventually veered off in different directions than I thought it would, which was surprising and sometimes shocking. I thought it dragged a little bit late, about 75% through, and maybe was a bit too long, but I really liked the ending and it went from a 3.5 or 4.0 rating to a 5.0 rating during the last few chapters and the epilogue.
This book killed me. It had me hook, line, and sinker. I could relate my experiences with my own dogs to the main character dog throughout the whole bThis book killed me. It had me hook, line, and sinker. I could relate my experiences with my own dogs to the main character dog throughout the whole book.
Usually when I feel a book is pandering to my emotions I get a little cynical but throughout the book I felt like the dog's stories were realistic. While reading, I often thought of our dog, Rex, who we had for eleven years before he died in 2015. Rex was abused, and tied to a tree and abandoned at a local state park. Once we adopted him, Rex's sole purpose in life was to protect this human mom and dad and two human brothers. He was all business. He watched his humans like a hawk and was ready to jump in the way of a threatening dog and keep and eye on an approaching stranger. Right up until the time it was to go to the vet for that final tearful good-bye, he spent his last minutes laying in the yard keeping tabs on people walking by his house. He couldn't walk well, was pretty much deaf, and his eyesight was failing, but he was still brave, supremely loyal, and never left his watch right up until he left his home for the last time. And he knew he was loved by his family.
Now, we have two new dogs, both adopted this summer. We are slowly establishing that special connection between humans and their dogs, the one that our family enjoyed with our prior three dogs. It is amazing how dogs are locked in to their owners, and how they enjoy our companionship and friendship and grow to know our emotions and moods. I think the book did an excellent job accurately portraying the amazing connection between dog and their humans. With our new dogs, I know the sadness and despair they both went through when they were surrendered by their prior owners and read about similar situations in the book. It all really hit home.
I'd recommend this book to dog lovers and especially owners of rescue dogs, who are giving a second chance to a dog who was rejected and let down by humans. All dogs deserve a loving family and a purpose, and all people deserve to feel the unconditional love and unwavering companionship of a canine best friend. ...more
I enjoy multiple lives / groundhog day type books so I was excited to read this one. I rather liked it, although not as much as Life After Life by KI enjoy multiple lives / groundhog day type books so I was excited to read this one. I rather liked it, although not as much as Life After Life by Kate Atkinson or Replay by Ken Grimwood. I didn't feel a strong connection to the main character(s) in this book the way I did in Life After Life . Like Atkinson's and Grimwood's novels, the main character in The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August , Harry, lives his life over and over again, and, after death, is born again and and can remember his past lives. Unlike the other two books, there are other people in the world like Harry who also have this ability. Not many, but enough that they are able to form clubs in parts of the world. Having a number of these types of people, called kalachakras, in the world in different time periods allows them to kind of communicate back in to time. This is accomplished by talking to a near-death kalachakra who then is reborn and can, as a child, give information to another near-death kalachakra and so on. This is not a spoiler, this happens in the opening scene of the book.
We find out there are kalachakras with good intentions and bad intentions, some that don't want to mess with history and some that do, and that there are ways they deal with each other. It sounds confusing, but the book is told through the point of view of Harry and the story line unfolds gradually and is not difficult to follow. There is some jumping back and forth amongst Harry's lives, though, which does cause the brain to melt a bit.
What I liked the most about the book was the antagonist, who I can't say much about without spoiling the book. He was a fascinating character. What I didn't like were the torture scenes. Kalachakras do not fear death since they are reborn so the only way to glean information was through prolonged torture and there some graphic and drawn out scenes.
The concept of the book is unique and interesting and it all could've been a much more fleshed out. I would've liked to hear more about the others like Harry and about the different time periods they lived in. I would be interested in more books set in this universe....more
I'm fascinated with books that address the "what ifs?" in life - how would your life and other people's lives be different if you made different choicI'm fascinated with books that address the "what ifs?" in life - how would your life and other people's lives be different if you made different choices during the course of your life? I can think back to a few choices I've made and shudder to think what would've happened if I had taken the other fork in the road. My favorite of this type of novel is Replay by Ken Grimwood. Reliving one's life is the premise of Life After Life, where the main character, Ursula Todd, starts over as a baby on a snowy night in 1910 each time she dies. For the most part, the book kept me eagerly turning pages although some of the later chapters were much longer and seemed to drag a bit. Ursula's family and circle of friends were interesting and was neat seeing how each are affected by the changes made in each incarnation of the story. The book bounced around in time, with some chapters being very detailed and some just a few short paragraphs leading up to the next "restart". A chunky book, but well worth the effort. Looking forward to picking up the follow up novel, A God In Ruins. 4.25 stars. ...more
**spoiler alert** I liked The Bone Clocks but not as much as the two other Mitchell novels I've read: Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten. The novel was stru**spoiler alert** I liked The Bone Clocks but not as much as the two other Mitchell novels I've read: Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten. The novel was structured like Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten in that there were a number of interrelated stories with something common running through them. The stories aren't nested as in Cloud Atlas, rather all were related to the main character in the book, Holly Sykes, and running chronologically through her life. The writing is fantastic and it was neat how Mitchell weaves the different characters together throughout the book. What I didn't care for was the supernatural/paranormal/metaphysical subplot about two factions of warring immortals. Towards the end of the book there are ~140 pages dedicated to explain their motives and give us a front row seat to their epic final battle. This section of the novel was full of supernatural mumbo-jumbo which made my head spin. My brain melted during the final battle scenes, they reminded me of the many Pokemon battles I watched when my sons were young lads. The novel's final setting is on a ruined earth where society is on the brink of collapse (yay- dystopian sci-fi) and a 70+ year old Holly is living in rural Ireland with two of her grandchildren. In summary, I loved they Holly Sykes-with-humans parts and wished the paranormal subplot was dialed down a bit. I definitely recommend to anyone who has enjoyed any of the David Mitchell's other novels. ...more
This book was much different than my usual fare and I find it hard to rate....I liked it and would probably give it 3.75/5 stars. The story is basicalThis book was much different than my usual fare and I find it hard to rate....I liked it and would probably give it 3.75/5 stars. The story is basically that our mean girl protagonist Sam dies and is forced to live her last day over and over. Just like in Groundhog Day, she starts tweaking her last day in attempt to change people or improve things, only to have the day start over again. Each day starts the same way - the protagonist gets picked up by her three super-popular friends and the four seniors bully their way through the school day and a party. The tone of the book was sad and some scenes were gut wrenching. What I liked: the transformation of Sam in each day as she figures out how much of a jerk she is and tries to change things, with mixed results; the characters were really well developed; how it really drew me and and made me not want to put the book down. What I didn't like: some of the students' actions seemed to be a bit over the top (maybe I'm just too far removed from HS); some of the mean characters were never confronted regarding their actions, Sam had the attitude that "oh, that's just how she is". That all being said, it is a good book, and and worth a read by anyone. it probably would've hit me harder if I had read it in high school, at that age you just don't realize how being mean can really bring somebody down and how being nice to someone that may not be "cool' can really make a difference. ...more
Hugo nominated novel by the consistently solid sci-fi author Rober Sawyer. Not my favorite from this author but an interesting book dealing with both Hugo nominated novel by the consistently solid sci-fi author Rober Sawyer. Not my favorite from this author but an interesting book dealing with both SETI and rejuvination ideas. ...more
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