A terrible fire consumes a private school and two people are hurt. Grace, and her seventeen-year-old daughter Jenny, suffer extreme injuries and are in the hospital, both in deep comas. The results of the fire leave a family broken, waiting to see if Grace and Jenny will survive, and Adam, Grace's eight-year-old son, is blamed for starting the fire.

Grace and Jenny hover in an in-between state. They are outside of their bodies and can communicate with each other, move around the hospital and follow others, completely unseen. They firmly believe Adam didn't cause the fire, and they investigate to find who did. Since Jenny can't remember events right before the fire, it's up to Grace to do the legwork, and unbeknownst to Sara, her sister-in-law who is also a police officer, Grace follows her throughout the investigation to exonerate her son. All the while, Grace keeps watch over her husband and children and feels the strong love which, when it comes to family, will never die.

Guys, I'm really sorry. I tried but I found this extremely difficult to enjoy. While the mystery was intriguing, Rosamund Lupton employs the second person point-of-view, which means that the primary character, Grace, is communicating in a "you" format. The "you" she is referencing is her husband, and while there were several tender moments that clearly expressed Grace's strong foundation of devotion to her husband and children, it just became tough to read the book with "you" instead of "he" in every moment with her husband. I unexpectedly realized that around page 250, I had started to skim to get a better idea of what was happening, and skipping over each "you" as much as I possibly could.

While I found it tough, I applaud the author for her creative attempt and I know that others will (and have) enjoyed this book so far. I do feel the opportunity to have the primary characters conduct the investigation through their out-of-body experience was really interesting, but at the end of the day, it didn't work for me. I even started to think that it might be more engaging if Grace's sister, Sara, the police officer, was the central character. Which means that it certainly would have been more difficult to insert the supernatural element into it, and ultimately would have destroyed the ambition to do something extremely unique, so I then ask myself, what the heck do I know? I'm no expert, but the second person POV just became so difficult to be comfortable with, that I started daydreaming and wondering what it would have been like if other characters led the perspective in first person.

As I mentioned earlier, the mystery itself is very interesting, and I definitely was surprised when certain twists popped up. I do wish it was a little shorter, but I think that feeling is only because the POV was challenging.

The bottom line is this: I'm no ultimate authority, and I am definitely in the minority with my thoughts. Anyone can jump onto Goodreads and other sites which reflect many more positive reviews than negative ones. I am certain something is wrong with me, so I encourage you to take a look at what other reviewers thought before making a final decision to read or not to read it. And, yes, I'm still going to read Sister.

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

Release Date: April 24, 2012

Pages: 400

Giveaway

The publisher is kind enough to give one copy to a lucky winner (U.S. entries). Leave a comment with your email address. Entries accepted through Sunday, May 13, 2012.

About the Author

Rosamund Lupton is the best-selling author of Sister. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.

Visit the author:

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Thanks to TLC Book Tours for inviting me to participate. The full list of reviews on this tour can be found here.

People. I am not kidding when I tell you that I LOVED this audio book.

Hailed by Burkhard Bilger of the New Yorker as the "funniest science writer in the country," Mary Roach delivers a fascinating, engrossing, and shockingly delightful account of the "life" of the human cadaver. A history of everything from body-snatching, public autopsies, crash test dummies, crucifixion experiments, and...medicinal cannibalism, this will absolutely make my list of Top Books of 2012. Written in 2003, the hilariously brilliant and easy-to-understand approach of Mary Roach's writing, combined with the stellar narration of Shelly Frasier, was unquestionably a grand slam listening experience for me.

The full title is Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. And curious, it is. Non-fiction at its finest, Mary Roach has done what most authors may not be able to make a reader feel: take the emotion out of death and look at it clinically; even sometimes, laugh at it. Other than watching shows like The First 48 on A&E, I don't know what happens to bodies once the person is no longer alive, nor am I aware of the good our bodies can provide for science. I also had no idea that there were so many people in the world who were experimenting with creative and alternative ways for body disposal (note: only in legitimate and natural circumstances, not in a Mafia-esque type of way) that are outside of the "standard" options like cremation and casket burial (how about composting your body and being used as fertilizer? That's one way to "recycle" yourself). While some sections made me cringe and I made a note to stop eating any food right before, during, or right after listening to my copy, I loved every single second of this experience, and cannot imagine anyone not enjoying it.

Like most people, I'm humbled by the experience of dealing with the aftermath once someone we care about passes away. With this book, I got a chance to take the emotional aspect out of it, and was able to reflect on moments in my own life dealing with death. For example, my mother passed away after complications from a heart transplant eight years ago, and those last few weeks were painful. In listening to this audio, though, I removed quite a bit of the sad memories and ultimately was absorbed in several chapters, particularly by the theories presented later on as to "where" in the body the soul may reside, either the brain or the heart. Mesmerized, I was.

This is exactly what this book is: an experience. It's such a completely insightful snapshot of the history of a cadaver that I was disappointed when it came to an end. While I giggled, cringed, and gasped through chapters, it gave me quite a bit to think about, even so much as changing my own opinion on my plans for when my time comes (provided there are no available organs that are usable for donation). Maybe I will have to donate my body to science. I can't imagine not. At least right now.

As I mentioned earlier, this will make my Top Books List for 2012. Mary Roach delivers successfully an engrossing, hilarious, and humbling account of all the many things a cadaver can do, and you may recognize her most recent book making the blogging rounds, Packing for Mars. I cannot wait to snag that one next. She's got a bunch of other books out there, even one about sex called Bonk. I think I might get that one first. (After all, one of the questions presented in that book is whether or not one can "think" themselves to org*sm.)

What are you planning on doing when the time comes? Are you like me and just thought a standard burial or cremation would be the way to go?

Audio Notes: The narrator was spectacular! Shelly Frasier is a new-to-me narrator and my goodness, she delivered the humor remarkably. Her voice perfectly resonated, even through a few of the later squeamish discussions on "medicinal cannibalism." Click here to go to the Audible.com page and click the play button below the book cover for a five-minute sample. 

Others said (let me know if I missed your review):

The Infinite Shelf

Lakeside Musing (Audio Review)
Rebecca Reads

Publisher: Tantor Media

Release Date: 9/28/2003

Audio Time: 7 hours, 59 minutes

Narrator: Shelly Frasier

About the Author

Journalist and former Salon.com columnist Mary Roach didn't leave readers and critics cold with her first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. In fact, the comical-yet-scientific look at the "life" of the dead body throughout history earned her a spot in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program. She is also the author of Spook, Bonk, and Packing for Mars.

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This is another selection for the 2012 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa.

The 1998 film What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. was one I enjoyed, but it was the cinematography that I loved the most. The images were so beautiful that it has become a film I've watched more than once. When I learned it was based on a book originally released in 1977, I figured I would download it. After I did more research, it was interesting to find the author was previously a horror writer and, at the time, was trying to separate himself from the genre.

In the book, Robert has a visitor at his door, who delivers a large envelope. In this, Robert finds a manuscript written by his brother Chris. Immediately dubious at the authenticity since Chris has passed away, the woman at the door explains that she spent the last six months writing down Chris' words and after reassuring him that she understands it might be unbelievable, it is, in fact, true. She leaves quickly, never giving her name or a way to contact her.

It is Chris' journey following death that is explained, in minute detail of his initial stumbles as a spirit who didn't  understand what happened. He doesn't grasp how he can be at his own funeral, or lay down next to his weeping wife, since he believes he's not dead. When it becomes too confusing and exhausting, he eventually cries for help. It's answered by Albert, a guide who begins to educate Chris on where he now is, and what he must do in order to achieve fulfillment in this afterlife. Albert brings him to Summerland and while it's not quite the heaven one might expect as there aren't any angels or harps, it instead is a sweeping landscape of beauty and nature, where colors are at their purest, and everything emits its own natural energy vibration that is pleasing to hear. The sky has no sun, yet is bright and clear; the rushing water in the lake is cool and refreshing, yet hands and clothes remain dry. It's a peacefulness that Chris has never experienced before. And I'll admit that when a dog begins to run toward him, a dog he and his wife Ann had in their earthly lives but had to put to sleep because of illness, I got a little choked up.

Chris, though, is still tethered to earth through his wife's despair and pain at his loss. Her grief ultimately keeps him connected, and he can't move on. It's when she commits a final act that determines her own fate, that Chris must travel to the deepest realms to save her soul.

What happens after we die?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders what happens after death. Although several sources were used to build the foundation of the experience of death and the afterlife in What Dreams May Come, the book doesn't claim to be anything more than a story, and it's a pretty entertaining one. Bogged down by descriptions at times, but still good.

Surprisingly, I was not all that interested in the love between Chris and Ann, even though it's important to the story and I appreciated it in the film. In the book, though, I cared more about this particular version of life after death. I was fascinated by the idea that hell was a result of people limited by their minds in the afterlife. If they could only bring themselves out of the negativity they were surrounded by, and the despair and darkness, then they also could be in Summerland. Everywhere they looked, though, they were in a land with others who were also drowning in misery, so these poor souls couldn't conceive of anything more than sadness, hatred, and pain and were mired in this existence.

I also was more curious about the image of a house of rest, almost like a hospital in Summerland in which those who died by an act of violence or a lingering illness recuperated. Only when they acknowledged that they had passed on and could accept that they were able to now live without pain, could they really begin their new life. An interesting thought that new residents of Summerland still clung to their earthly existence, even if it was wracked with pain.

It's a good story and I enjoyed several aspects of it, but I found that I did get a little overwhelmed with so many of the descriptions of the love between Chris and Ann. It's pivotal to the story, but the flashbacks to moments in their life and expressions of devotion became tedious. In one defining moment towards the end, I was shocked at how many pages it was taking to fully express their connection. So, I quickly read those sections, to get to the ones that interested me more.

The book is a nice way to spend a couple of afternoons, though, and those who are interested in this version of an afterlife, or who struggle with what might be next, might like to spend some time reading this. Ultimately, I do recommend the film instead of the book simply because the images alone are brought to life much more. In my opinion, it was a story meant more for the eyes.

The movie follows the same story to a certain extent as the book. Even though several characters were changed, I could understand why it was done. It's the stunning visual imagery that I've always enjoyed, and here are a few pictures to give you an idea.

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

I'm not sure how else to say it but this way -- I really, really didn't want this one to end.

Scheduled for release in February of 2011, Liz Michalski's debut novel, Evenfall is quite a story, and one I intentionally slowed down in my reading towards the end because I really didn't want to commit to the fact that all stories have to end.  I'm so happy that I picked this one up at the SIBA Trade Show last month.

Each chapter of Evenfall takes a third-person point-of-view of three important people: Andie, Frank, and Gert, living on beautiful land in Connecticut called Evenfall. It's land that has been owned for a couple hundred years by one family, and at one time, it was the talk of the town with money galore.  But over the past fifty years or so, it's been hard farmland to work, and it's now become simply just a home with work to be done.

The characters are...

Andie is the young woman who's just returned from Italy -- she's caught her oh-so charming boyfriend with another, and it's time to get away. Her Aunt Clara has already passed, and now so has her Uncle Frank. It's time for her to come to Evenfall to help Aunt Gert clean it up to possibly sell. She has no bond with her own father, who dropped her off at a boarding school each fall when she was a kid, and then dropped her off at Evenfall each summer. She's been lucky to have her two aunts and uncle to give her a sense of family. And although this summer will be a hard one filled with memories that jump out from every room of the old house that will be looked at by real estate investors, she's especially unprepared for the young boy she once babysat who has now grown into quite a capable young man. A break from men and life's decisions she will not get.

Aunt Gert, nearing eighty, has spent a lifetime as a take-charge nurse who also served in WWII -- she's not a woman to be messed with. Aunt Gert has lived on the land in a small cottage since Andie was a kid, while the love of her life, Frank, was married to her sister, and living in the main house just a short walk away. I could imagine that feeling and how difficult it must have been for Gert. It's built her toughness to the point when it's not often anyone or anything can really crack it.

And Frank. Frank may have been my favorite character, but it's hard to say since I enjoyed each one. He's now dead, but he's certainly not gone, and he hovers about the house, having the ability to move from place to place simply by thinking about it. Gert is really the one he was always meant to be with, but bad timing and perhaps the subtle thought that there was always time, kept him from making the right choice. Regret can almost feel like its own character, and in Evenfall, the weight of its presence was felt through every page. Frank, though, is not ready to have it be part of him any more -- he's going to make it right, and sometimes he can project his presence to the point where Gert can feel him around her. It's not the time anymore for him to just sit back and let time slide by.

Evenfall is genuine.  Every character had its own peculiarity and distinct personality that it never once felt jarring when the point of view switched from chapter to chapter as it sometimes can in other stories.  Their actions were real and organic to who they ultimately were.  Even the movements and thoughts of Frank's ghost were written so authentically that I felt confident that this truly would be what a ghost would be able to do, to think, to feel, in their afterlife.

I felt surrounded by so many things as I read this.  Enveloped by the humid richness of the New England summer, the descriptions of farmland, peaches, and the setting sun so real I could see it before me.  And reminder.  Regret makes an incredible story, as Liz Michalski does with Evenfall, but it certainly does not make a good life.  I was reminded to enjoy the moment, to see what was before me, and to not just pay attention to what, but most especially to whom.

Liz Michalski has effortlessly crafted a story that resonates about love and life, and how strong longing can be in the afterlife.  What's right is always right, and it doesn't matter when it happens, but making the effort to make it right is a lot better than living a lifetime of regret.

This comes out in February - I envision book clubs really enjoying this one.  And especially good for anyone on a rainy day.

Visit Liz Michalski's blog by clicking here.

Happy Reading!

Coffee and a Book Chick