Book Review

Books that we have read and reviewed

Tomorrow Comes

Tommorrow Come   by Donna Mebane

Tommorrow Come by Donna Mebane

Tomorrow Comes by Donna Mebane is  unlike any novels that I have read before. It is  based on Donna’s personal experience and reflections of the death of her 19 yr old daughter Emma.

In her debut novel, Donna shares what it was like for the family when Emily Mebane, a well-liked popular teenager, suddenly died in her sleep.  The bright spark in her life was suddenly snuffed out and Donna’s world crumbles to pieces as she struggled to deal with this grave loss.

Wrote with the perception of what it must be for Emma living in the afterlife, Donna brings the reader through the transitional period that she and her family had to go through coping with grieving and changes after Emma’s death.

In this book about Emma, Donna brings the readers through the actual facts of the event which happened back in 2011 when Emma died and mixes it up with fiction when she mentions about Emma’s after life.

Donna comes to term with her own grief through penning down what she things her daughter is experiencing in the afterlife. She talks about how Emma is  reunited with her grandparents and great grandparents who  help in her transition in living in this new “life” of hers.

Over on the other side Emma is still able to keep in touch with her BEFORE life through reading  the messages left on her Facebook wall. She still lives in the town which  nearly identical to the one she lived in Geneva The differences are that  food is free , people can magically pop up unexpectedly and disappear.

The dead have  the capability of  morphing into other creatures depending on the circumstances they are in and Emma is constantly learning more about her “magical” abilities day by day.

My thoughts

I found it interesting that Donna conceives the afterlife as a place which is  very similar to the world that we live in. The places and towns are the same just that the people “living” in it are different.

One can still  go on living and doing the things that they were doing before they were dead so there is practically not much difference between the two lives.

It would be nice to have the familiarity of our previous life in our after life however no one can be certain about it.

One thing that I disagree with Donna  portrayal is that GOD is not existent even in church in the afterlife. I find this perception disturbing as a Christian I belief that I will be able to see GOD in the afterlife and what better place to feel his presence then in church itself?

I also do not get the part about how long dead singers like Elvis can suddenly pop up and perform in the basement of a  close door and by invitation only party.  I find this concept really confusing.

In all I find that it is a really touching story on how one deals with moving on after the passing of a love one. It was certainly great how the  family has bonded together honoring the memories of Emma.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own. This post has affiliate links.

Mum Made Us Write

Mom Made Us Write This Book Cover

Mom Made Us Write This Book Cover

Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer (Max and Maggie Journal) by Ali Maier was a really enjoyable read for the boys and me.

It has been a while since we last read a Diary Entry type of storybook. The  last one which we read being  the Diary of a Whimpy Kid: Hard Luck.

This book was more interesting as it portrays  two different characters, Maggie and Max and their style of writing.

The boys and me enjoyed reading the journal entries and there were distinct differences between a boy and a girl’s way of writing.  We loved looking at the pictures that they accompanied each journal entry.

The drawings were very hilarious and really gave a better insight to what Maggie and Max were trying to convey through their journal entries.

My thoughts

Doggie boy's attempt at writing a journal entry

Doggie boy’s attempt at writing a journal entry

I found the journal exercise really interesting and tried it out with the boys during the current end of year vacations.

Monkey boy's journal entry

Monkey boy’s journal entry

So far they have done 3 journal entries and we are attempting to do a minimum of 6 entries during this 6 week long end of year vacations.

I found this an excellent way to get the boys interested in writing and it certainly made it more fun for them to express themselves in both pictorial and words.

Do get a copy of Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer (Max and Maggie Journal) by Ali Maier if you are looking at a fun read for the kids this holidays.

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own. This post has affiliate links.