Search This Blog

2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

2024 Challenge Sign-Up Post

January Reviews Link-Up

February Reviews Link-Up

March Reviews Link-Up

April Reviews Link-Up

May Reviews Link-Up

June Reviews Link-Up

July Reviews Link-Up

August Reviews Link-Up

September Reviews Link-Up

October Reviews Link-Up

November Reviews Link-Up

December Reviews Link-Up

My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*

International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 50 words. 20% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


15 / 50 books. 30% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


32 / 50 books. 64% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


27 / 52 books. 52% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


21 / 40 books. 53% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


13 / 40 books. 33% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


5 / 25 books. 20% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


17 / 26.2 miles. 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


15 / 100 books. 15% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Saturday, March 06, 2010

Heaven A Nice, Affirming Read

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

After being blown away by Angela Johnson's The First Part Last, I was thrilled to find out about its sequel/prequel, Heaven. Every time I close an enjoyable book, I feel like I'm leaving friends behind. It's always nice when I can step back into their lives and see how they've fared since last we met. Naturally, then, I wanted to see how Bobby and Feather have grown and changed. Turns out, they haven't. Well, they've aged a teensy bit, but that's about all. Both make appearances in Heaven, but the book isn't actually about them at all.

The book concerns 14-year-old Marley, a girl who's content with her life in Heaven, Ohio. It's not the most exciting existence in the world, but her parents are kind, her older brother's cool and her best friend, Shoogie, always makes her laugh. Letters from her globe-trotting Uncle Jack allow her a peek at the outside world. It's enough for Marley.

Then, she receives startling news, information that leads her to question everything she's ever known about her life, her family and herself. How can the people she loves and trusts have misled her? Who are her parents, really? If she doesn't know them, how in the world can she ever know herself?

While Heaven doesn't equal or even really resemble The First Part Last, it's still a touching little book. It raises questions of what it means to be a family, if there's any such thing as a perfect one, and how we all fit together in this great big human race. The book didn't stir me like The First Part Last did, but Heaven's definitely a nice, affirming read.

(Readalikes: Hm, can't think of any.)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for some mature themes

To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find


2 comments:

  1. Did you expect or think that Heaven should have mirrored First Part in some way?

    I just finished the final book in the trilogy and I loved, Sweet, Hereafter. For me, the stories were loosely interrelated but meant to examine different characters stories much in the way I think E.R. Frank connected characters in Life Is Funny.

    Hope you read the last book.

    Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's like this: THE FIRST PART LAST really blew me away with the story, the beauty of the language, everything. So, I think I expected something similar from HEAVEN. I was surprised to find that HEAVEN has a completely different tone. It's still a nice story, just not as impactful to me as THE FIRST PART LAST. I think I probably would have liked HEAVEN better if I hadn't read THE FIRST PART LAST first. You know what I mean?

    How did I not know there was another book in the series? I'm going to request it from my library right now ...

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin


Reading

<i>Reading</i>
End of Story by A.J. Finn

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



Followin' with Bloglovin'

Follow

Followin' with Feedly

follow us in feedly



Grab my Button!


Blog Design by:


Blog Archive



2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Susan has read 0 books toward her goal of 200 books.
hide

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction