The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom.

"The one constant in Eddie's life is Ruby Pier. The boardwalk attraction he's worked at since he was a teenager. It's been a staple of his life and sadly, it will also be the place of his death. When he wakes up in Heaven, he meets five people, each who teach him a lesson and help prepare him for the way forward. This book had me hook, line and sinker and didn't disappoint. It was a powerful, emotional and absolutely beautiful read."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Hooked me right from the start/Every step of Heaven was perfectly heartbreaking/This was an incredibly moving and powerful book.

Cons: The only one I can think of is, I would have liked to have known more about Eddie's life before but we're offered enough in the glimpses shown through the novel.

Full Review:

Eddie is old and tired. He gets up, he goes to work, he comes home, wash, rinse, repeat. His life has had its ups and downs but all we see, at first, is a sad, tired, old man. Every day he goes to work at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park, a boardwalk attraction. Eddie is head of maintenance, performing routine checks on all the rides and ensuring the safety of the passengers.

Ruby Pier has seen every hardship in his life, it's become a staple of his existence. Sadly, it's also the place where his physical existence will end.

When a ride malfunctions, he plays damage control. They manage to get everyone off of the damaged cart and everything seems fine. That is until a slowly frayed cable snaps and sends the car plummeting to the Earth. And there's a little girl that's about to be crushed. Eddie jumps to save her and the last thing he'll remember is the feel of her hands in his.

He wakes up in Heaven.

Only, this Heaven is Ruby Pier. He's exactly where he was when he died.

Confused and frightened, he slowly makes his way through the familiar boardwalk until he comes upon the side show. And he meets the first person he'll meet in Heaven.

This book hooked me from the first page. I also had to put it down for a few days because I knew it was going to be a hard hitter and I wanted to emotionally prepare. I was smart to do so. Albom hits you in the feels at all the right moments. This book moved me to tears numerous times. It was an amazingly beautiful, relatable and powerful story of what might exist after this life and how even in death, there are lessons to be learned.

This was an absolutely amazing read, I would recommend it to anyone.

Comments

Animal Farm by George Orwell

"A blithe and scathing commentary on equality, power, corruption and how everyone is created equal, but...some are more equal than others. Orwell hit the nail right on the head with this novel and it's no wonder it's a staple for most high school curriculums. " 3 Stars. Pros: Benjamin the Donkey is the smartest animal on the farm and it would have done all the others a world of good if they had listened to him in the first place. Cons: The fact that societies like this actually do exist is nauseating and terrible. It's not a con, per se, it's just a gut wrenching fact. Full Review: When the overworked and mistreated Animals on Manor Farm decide to rise up and overthrow their cruel master, they're successful. They rebel and now find themselves with an entire Farm to run. They rename it Animal Farm and are intent on creating a paradise, where work and play are equal, where productivity is key but relaxation is a must and all the lives of all the animal...

Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov

"When a scientist, Benes, who has integral and world changing information attempts to defect and join our Side, he's injured. A blood clot forms in his brain and the only way to save his life is to miniaturize the crew of the Proteus and inject them into Benes' body, so they can break up the blood clot from the inside. Of course, one thing after another goes wrong and every chapter is a new catastrophe but it was definitely a fantastic voyage. 2 Stars Pros: Grant is one dry character but he's a welcome bit of amusement in an otherwise serious and scientific novel. Cons: Grant is also SUCH a man that he spends most of the mission staring at saving the one woman board, Cora./Definitely ripe with anatomical lessons and what part of the body they were in. Since I've never been great at anatomy, a lot of it was lost on me and became burdensome near the end. Full Review: As in all things, there is a good side and a bad side. This book is very vague as...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

"Arnold Spirit, Jr, or "Junior" as he's known on the Rez, does something no Spokane Indian has ever done. He enrolls in Reardon High School and begins the long and often painful process off navigating not only high school and adolescence but also being an outsider. Alexie handles it all with grace, humor and honesty. This was a great read. I would recommend it to anyone." 5 Stars Pros: Alexie handles the ups and downs of not only adolescence, but tragedy and loss in a stark, honest but gut wrenchingly relatable way. Cons: Some of Junior's all-consuming guilt, though understandable was a little repetitive but it's all part of being a teenager. Full Review: It all starts when Arnold Spirit Jr, or Junior, throws a textbook across the classroom. When he opened the book he saw his mother's name, her maiden name and it enrages him. He's furious that the reservation is so poor that they're learning from thirty-year old textbooks. He doesn't...

All the Books.

Search This Blog