OH MY GOD! Chilling doesn't even begin to describe this horror novel. It actually scared me and that rarely happens even when reading horror. This novOH MY GOD! Chilling doesn't even begin to describe this horror novel. It actually scared me and that rarely happens even when reading horror. This novel is told through the eyes of an 8-year old girl, and the audiobook is performed with appropriate voice, putting the reader in full protective mode as her innocence shines. I still can't get over how this book left me. I borrowed the audiobook from my local library but I'm buying it asap. OMG ...more
A Dog's Purpose is the first installment in W. Bruce Cameron's fiction, animal POV series titled A Dog's Purpose. Initially, I wasn't into this book. A Dog's Purpose is the first installment in W. Bruce Cameron's fiction, animal POV series titled A Dog's Purpose. Initially, I wasn't into this book. The simplicity of the writing is almost childlike as the narrator is a dog who is confused by human behavior and just wants to please in any way. However, animal reincarnation was an interesting spin that kept the story from stalling...and then the tears came for me about 2/3 of the way through. Finally, I was invested.
I didn't love A Dog's Purpose, but reading it made me love my own dog even more. Charlie is napping on my lap right now after a long walk with a generous amount of sniffing stops and an icecube of chicken broth. I know a human wrote this book, and who even knows what really goes on in a dog's head, but I feel even more motivated to make Charlie as happy as he truly makes me �.
Meet Charlie [image]
My favorite quote: “The job of a good dog was ultimately to be with them, remaining by their sides no matter what course their lives might take. All I could do now was offer him comfort, the assurance that as he left this life he was not alone but rather was tended by the dog who loved him more than anything in the whole world.�
Very similar to Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time...or maybe The Forgetting Time is very similar to this one. I don't know which one was written firVery similar to Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time...or maybe The Forgetting Time is very similar to this one. I don't know which one was written first. I may take a few minutes later on to research it a bit more. Regardless, Yesternight was an engaging, mysterious, and thrilling story about the idea of reincarnation. Unfortunately, because of my exposure to The Forgetting Time, Yesternight was nothing I haven't read before but I very much enjoyed the mystery element and especially the twists and turns near the end. It added a haunting feel to an already haunting thought. Check it out!
My favorite quote: "Sometimes traumatic memories like to keep the doors to their chambers wide open so that their victims never stop hearing, seeing and sensing the horrors of their past. The memories roared and clawed and sank sharp teeth into a person's brain. As hard as the sufferer tried, she could never slam the door shut without someone, someone like a trained psychologist to help. In fact shutting the door wasn't even the solution. The memories themselves needed to be weakened, tamed, shrunken down to minuscule granules of dust that could no longer clamp down and destroy a person's life. Other memories however preferred to hide behind closed doors with thick metal locks. From behind the wood they snarled, they growled, they pounded their fists against the barrier and threatened to kick the door wide open to reveal their monstrous faces when their sufferers least wanted to see them. And yet the remained a frustrating mystery. Unconquerable until viewed and faced."
Update 12/30/16:: So I researched the publication dates and although The Forgetting Time was officially published first, both publication dates are close enough to theorize that the authors were writing their books around the same time. Unfortunately, I could not locate any online interviews with Cat Winters to gain insight into her inspiration. Although the main topics are eerily similar, there are societal themes and historical factors that indeed set these two stories apart. Both are lovely reads that I would recommend.
[image] ★★★� We've all heard the term "old souls", the youthful who are wise beyond their years. The ones who seem to have been through life's journey [image] ★★★� We've all heard the term "old souls", the youthful who are wise beyond their years. The ones who seem to have been through life's journey a time or two already. Have they?
The Forgetting Time is a fictional story about a young boy Noah who experiences episodes of trauma, confusion, and homesickness over a life that is not his. Is he mentally ill? What other explanation is there? The mother is desperate for a different answer. An out-of-the-box researcher is desperate for one more case study. Fate intervenes and the combination of mild suspense, family drama, and mystery begins.
At its core, The Forgetting Time is a beautiful and thought-provoking book. There is a lot going on here though. Multiple storylines include (view spoiler)[the mother's one-night stand in which Noah was conceived (the abrupt ending and timeframe jump kept me waiting on some follow up), the mother's life as a single mother to Noah, Noah's episodes and how they impact his functioning, the researcher's separate storyline that involves his career and rapid cognitive deterioration, failed attempts at finding the Noah's matching family from before the reincarnation, the successful match's family dynamics, grief process, and differing responses to the idea of reincarnation, Noah confronting his former life's killer... (hide spoiler)] Like I said, there is a lot going on. In my opinion, it unfortunately made for a choppy reading experience. BUT, this topic in and of itself is like climbing Mt. Everest for a first-time author and the outcome is to be commended.
The Forgetting Time engaged me pretty much instantly and kept me invested in an idea that many shrug at and consider more paranormal than anything. Ms. Guskin allowed this idea to be plausible and entertaining at the same time. Throughout this book, she incorporated nonfiction narratives that mirror Noah's concerns to keep her readers asking questions... Could reincarnation be real? If it is real, what does it mean? How does it change how we live our lives? The Forgetting Time is an excellent debut that I am still heavily thinking about three days later. I would recommend it.
My favorite quote: "You Only Live Once. That's what people said, as if life really mattered because it happened only one time. But what if it was the other way around? What if what you did mattered MORE because life happened again and again, consequences unfolding across centuries and continents? What if you had chances upon chances to love the people you loved, to fix what you screwed up, to get it right?"...more
Loading...
