My thoughts:
After reading The Mine, a story
filled with heart and adventure combined with Heldt’s resonant and witty style,
you can bet how quickly I jumped at the chance to review his second book.
Michelle “Shelly”
Preston has had to live with her regrets most of her life, but being married to
Scott had made them dormant behind a wall of a “perfect wife”; now that he has
laid to rest, those regrets have re-surfaced to the burning layer of nostalgia
and reflection. Then a visit to her high school reunion sends her down memory
lane—literally! It’s another Back to the
Future tale, except our Shelly has a chance to not only try to return to
her time, but try to make the life she should’ve had.
In the
meantime, she must contend with a lot of high school memories as well as her
teenage self. How weird, right? I would be too concerned about altering fate
and changing the parallels of the universe. But for Shelly, that’s her whole
mission. The battle for change quickly begins as she does everything in her
power to make things better…for everyone.
What’s
unique about this story is that we receive the thoughts and perspectives of
both Michelles—the one from the future and the one from present-day 1979. With
a dialogue so clever and refreshing, this book sends the reader on a wild ride
through history, veering between lanes of ponderings and second chances.
If you had a
second chance in your life, what would you change? How about going after that one teacher you had
a crush on as a kid, for starters? I was riveted by Shelly’s attempts at
challenging fate—dating her old high school math teacher, consoling and
advising her young self, and throwing puzzling minds into a loop with her inexplicable
knowledge of the future. At the same
time, however, young Shelley must cope with the emptiness of future and complications
of her love life. Should she pick another guy or the guy she marries in the
future? I liked how Shelly ends up
learning things she never could see the second time around. But is it wise to
meddle with history?
You can’t
wait to find out what happens! This book is a tailspin of comfort, heartache,
drama, and mystery— an enjoyable read every step of the way.
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