The concept of the healing room is premised on the opportunity to be able to hear messages from dearly departed ones through a portal located in the corporate office of a non-profit organization. And that is where the skeptics come in. Non-profit? For such an elaborate and other-worldly experience? Well how is this entire “service” financed?
I loved this story, and I am impressed by the storyteller. The entire book is written from the perspective of two young adults – one non-conforming seventeen year old girl and one Latino college graduate. The tone is realistic, and the mortal imperfections of the main characters are not swept underneath the rug. The build-up was gradual and smooth, and the climax held my attention. The only criticism I have is that the later uncovered antagonists didn’t seem as sharp as they were portrayed to be in the earlier part of the book. Nonetheless, I got my fix of good vs. evil, and the victory of the unlikely heroes.
There are a few shockers dropped here and there, so I do have to mention that this book is for older teens, and of course the rest of us adults.
I received a review copy and I savored every reading moment I had with this book. Recommended.
You should totally read this book. It has a fresh concept and theme and the humor is spot on. I cannot count the number of time I silently laughed while reading this during my train rides. The main characters are young teens, so expect a lot of current wit, dry humor and sarcasm, but beneath this exterior is a lot of heart. The book is also unafraid to use as a backdrop a couple of households with two moms. While this could have been uncomfortable, the authenticity of the love between the moms and their children was unflappable, even in the face of complications brought about by the sperm donor and half-siblings situation.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am impressed as well by the maturity of the donor offspring, as demonstrated towards the end of the story. If this is a sign of fresh material to come in 2017, then I am fully committed to a great year of reading and reviewing.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.
I am a dad of my own now, but back when I was a kid, my early exposure to literature and music included nursery rhymes, fairy tales and Christmas songs. So any trivia game that involves these, I will likely know the answer. Since there are a lot of fairy tale retellings nowadays, I am enjoying my responsibility to pre-screen books that I pass on to my pre-teens by reading them first. Some I disapprove of (like children's stories made excessively dark and gruesome) and some I am delighted with. I am happily delighted with Peddler's Road!
This colorful revision of the original Pied Piper's story is expansive and inclusive. The world it paints is graphically depicted in a map ala-Middle Earth. The main characters are the two kids of a professional archivist and researcher of fairy tales. But the interesting twist is that they meet the original 130 kids who were lured by the Pied Piper! How? You have to read the book to find out.
There are elements of Neverland here, as well as Hansel and Gretel, Raggedy Ann, Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood. The monsters here are the ones we somehow tend to concoct as kids, regardless of race or creed. The rats are given life-sized roles here, instead of being just pests.
I liked this enough that midway through, I allowed my daughter to read it hoping she could catch up with me. Well, she ended up finishing it a day before I did, and now she is in Book 2. If there is one thing I could complain of, it is the pricing of the trilogy. My daughter is absolutely thrilled that there are 3 books - that means she has something to look forward to next year when Book 3 comes out. I am shocked by how expensive Book 2 was, even the ebook version. Unfortunately, our library only has Book 1, which I had already bought for myself. I feel like I have been lured by the Pied Piper... and here I am, merrily trading my hard earned money just to hear more of the story... and the music.
