Review: A heartwarming tale
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 9, 2011
This novel follows a woman on a journey of self-discovery and emotional growth. I love the overall storyline of this book. I've always enjoyed books that include time travel to the past, and I would have loved more exploration of that past. That wasn't the purpose of the story, however. The story was really designed around Lily and her journey to a better life. Initially weak and unable to bring her family together, Lily's experience in the past shapes her future. The character of Lily has a realistic feel, as do the other members of her family. It's easy to picture a family in this same rut, not knowing how to climb out of it and become whole again. I really like the concept of Lily learning something about herself by escaping to the past, and the growth in her character is apparent in the story. Although the characters themselves had a sense of realism, sometimes their actions or dialogue seemed somewhat incongruous. That detracted from the story for me.The writing style was very simple-- a little too simplistic for my taste in adult fiction. The simplicity of the writing gave me the feeling of a lack of depth. The plot was obviously thought out, but the story dragged for me in a few places. There was some time travel in the beginning, setting up one type of story, but then the middle largely just dealt with Lily and Sam's relationship, giving the book an altogether different feel. Then the time travel unexpectedly started up again, changing the feel of the book yet again.The entire story felt a little too loosely connected, and included several plot events I didn't quite understand. When Lily brought the dog back, I wasn't sure why that happened. I had thought perhaps the dog would play an integral role in the later time travel, but that didn't happen. I just wasn't sure what the point of the dog was. One thing that particularly bothered me was that only Daniel was able to see Lily in the past. I looked back to see if I'd missed something in the story, but I couldn't find anything that would tell me why that would be.Overall, this was a quick and quite enjoyable read. As I read, I also was prompted to reflect on my own life and relationships, which was an added plus. If you're a fan of women's literature and stories of emotional growth, this book is sure to be pleasing.Full review @ MotherLode [...]