One of the most challenging aspects about doing Maria's
Book Banter is choosing the books. My aim is to blog about a variety of books, while picking ones that I will enjoy. The
Hope Family Calendar by Mike Gayle was a recommendation I received not too
long ago. It has very good ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. So, it seemed like
a promising start.
Tom is burying his grief over his wife’s death in his
work as a television producer. For his daughters’ sake, he needs a wake-up
call, which he gets from his mother-in-law, Linda, who has been caring for the
girls for the past year. Now, it’s time for Tom to be a parent again. Will he
rise to the occasion?
This book is about coping with grief and how it affects a
family and its individual members. In this case, the Hope Family. What is life
like after a sudden and tragic death? Can there still be peace and joy for
those who are mourning the loss. The narrative is told alternatingly from the
viewpoints of Tom and Linda with clarity, making this an easy book to read and
also, a fairly straightforward blog post to write.
The Hope Family Calendar was described to me as a slice of
life story. I think this is very accurate. Although for much of the book, nothing
particularly extraordinary happens. Yet, these characters, their choices and
the truths they had to confront held my interest and kept me wanting to read
more.
With its emotional ending, The Hope Family Calendar is a feel-good
story without being corny or manipulative – something I truly do appreciate.
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