"The Forgetting Time" by Sharon Guskin is Unforgettable!

I liked The Forgetting Time a debut novel by Sharon Guskin.  Janie knows that nothing comes easy for her with her 4-yr.-old son, Noah, but when his preschool calls her again, she knows it's time to get him some professional help.  Enter Dr. Jerome Anderson, who just received some bad news and knows his time of normal functioning is fading.  When Noah's mom comes to him for help with her son, he sees a last chance to finish his life's work.

I thought this book was very well done.  It kept my interest throughout and had some twists I did not see coming.  Congrats to the author on a great first novel!
 Gerard's review (5 stars)
 
(Karen's review, 4 stars): 
The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin will probably prove to be unforgettable for me! When 4-yr.-old Noah screams his head off if his mother tries to bathe him, has nightmares, says he wants to go home and wants his other mama, and talks about things such as shooting a rifle, going to their beach house, Lord Voldemort and all kinds of lizards he has no way of knowing about, she is at her wits end. She and the psychologists she has taken him to don’t have a clue what is wrong with him or how he knows these things.

Finally, she discovers a psychiatrist who is looking for one more American case to complete his book about the possibility of living more than one life.  Noah becomes his last case before he loses speech altogether as he has just been diagnosed with Aphasia--a rare type of Dementia that affects the language center.  The story is told from different points of view.

This book was interesting but kind of like a contemporary science fiction story about boys and two mothers. It starts off pretty slow but builds along the way to a great ending. I initially thought Noah was just a bratty kid, but liked him as the story opened my understanding as to maybe why he acted as he did.


SPOILER ALERT--STOP IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS YET! 
I got a bit bored when the author inserted the “cases” for reincarnation from other countries that were not directly related to the main story line; however, when I did an online search for "life before life" I found it to be an actual book that several of the cases were quoted from by Jim B. Tucker.  I was just curious about that.  The Doctor's story runs along with the main story in this book.  I did not like the ending to his story line though.  Although I personally do not believe in reincarnation, I still enjoyed this book.



Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Tail of Hope's Faith by Diane Weinmann (Animal Communicator)

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I met the author at a fund-raiser for Parma Animal Shelter and was curious when I found out she actually could get animals to tell her their thoughts.  I asked her some questions because I think it would be awesome to actually hear what animals are thinking and I'd love for Abby to tell us about her past before we got her. I talk to my pets all the time and can pretty much figure out what they're thinking at certain times; however, I've never actually heard them speak to me.   She told me to read her book about the dog named Hope so I did.

A Tale of Hope’s Faith is about Diane Weinmann, an animal communicator, and her experience with one particular dog named Hope. Hope has cancer and Diane uses holistic alternative medicine to help the dog have less pain and a better quality of life. Then, it progresses to reincarnation after the dog finally has to be euthanized. 

It is an amazing story, but one I have a very hard time believing. It seemed like hocus-pocus new age stuff to me for the most part and the dog really didn’t get better.  I found myself plowing through it.  

Diane says she is psychic and communicates telepathically with animals.  I guess I'm really not sure what to make of this because she says she's Catholic and before communicating or trying to heal animals, she prays to her spirit guides, St. Francis, and Jesus.   

What do you think about this?  Would you go to alternative medicine if your pet was ill?

(Karen's review, 2 stars--I expected more conversations with the dog and not so much detail about the different alternative healing methods)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Incarnate" by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows is a fantasy book about Ana, a nosoul.  She lives where if you die, you keep coming back.  She has only the one life.  When Ana gets away from Li, who was bringing her up and was very mean to her, a fellow named Sam helps her.

I enjoyed this book very much--it kept me turning pages for sure!  I hope there is a second book.  If so, I'll be sure to read it too!
(Gerard's review:  My rating 5 stars out of 5)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue to help homeless cats this month.

"Emily And Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee

Emily and Einstein is the story of Sandy and Emily Portman.  Sandy gets killed in an auto accident and comes back as a dog.  Emily adopts this dog and names him Einstein.  I loved the parts in the book a told by Einstein more than I did by Emily.  Very readable and had a nice, if predictable, ending.
 
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams

I read this because I came across a blog that posted this was her first favorite book and she still enjoys reading it over and over so I wanted to read it to see why.  Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams is a cute classic children’s book about toys becoming real when they are well loved and cared for.  I liked the idea of a nursery fairy and how when a stuffed animal is worn out, that's when it becomes real.  

I recommend this book to any parent who thinks it’s time to throw out a worn out stuffed animal that their child is not ready to part with.  This should help.  Me being a stuffed animal collector, I really liked this story!

(Karen's review 4/18/10)

Comment moved from our other blog:

My daughter loved this book when she was small. I would read it to her, and then when she could read, she would read it to me. When my sons were small, the oldest had a black and white teddy bear that actually was tread bare. Our boys were 5 years apart so the oldest never played with it anymore, but the little one took it over and loved it. Well, when cleaning out things (we could burn things in a burn barrel where we lived), I threw that bear in thinking it was old, raggedy and worn out. Well, you would have thought I had killed my baby boy's best friend. He screamed and cried, but it was too late to retrieve it from the fire. I felt so bad for quite a while over that. The baby girl that came along 13 years after this incident is the one that loved The Velveteen Rabbit...too bad I hadn't read it when my boys were babies. Thanks for the reminder of a great book for little ones.

By peabea on April 18, 2010

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"The Art Of Racing In The Rain" by Garth Stein

The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein is awesome.  It started out slow and I thought about giving up on it but I’m so glad I stuck with it and finished it.  It is narrated by a dog named Enzo who is devoted to his owner, Denny, a race car driver.  The dog and Denny sit and watch videos of car races together, while Denny points out racing tips to the dog that he applies to life.

Denny had lots of personal problems including a sick wife who died of Brain Cancer and the constant battle with his in-laws over his daughter, and a bogus criminal lawsuit against him.

The dog shares it’s thoughts with the reader but can only communicate to his owners with gestures which is frustrating for it and so he looks forward to being reincarnated as a man.  It’s an inspirational book, encouraging the reader to “finish the race” and never, ever quit but hang in and overcome obstacles.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from The Art Of Racing In The Rain:
 

Your car goes where your eyes go.
 
Yes:  the race is long—to finish first, first you must finish.
 
The true hero is flawed.  The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles—preferably of his own making—in order to triumph.
 
No race has ever been won in the fist corner, but plenty of races have been lost there.
 
Getting angry at another driver for a driving incident is pointless.  You need to watch the drivers around you, understand their skill, confidence and aggression levels, and drive with them accordingly.  Know who is driving next to you.  Any problems that may occur have  ultimately been caused by you, because you are responsible for where you are and what you are doing there.

(Karen's Review 2/3/10)
Must check out www.goenzo.com

The Art Of Racing In The Rain is told to you by Enzo, the dog.  You will grow to love Enzo very much as he tells the story of Denny, his owner and a race car driver, his wife, Eve, and their daughter, Zoe.  This is a wonderful book.  It goes very fast.  I found it almost impossible to put down.  The ending is very good and very sad.  You will understand when you read it.  This book deserves to be read!  Enjoy!
Gerard's Review posted 1/25/10

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?