Emma Straub

This was interesting but, perhaps, not as deep as reviews made it out to be.

Alice Stern's father, Leonard, is dying. He hasn't spoken or even appeared conscious for the last week or so. Leonard was famous for writing one novel called Time Brothers which was turned into a successful TV series. After that one book, though, he never published anything else. Similarily, Alice has kind of coasted through her adult years. She has been working in the admissions department of the same private school in Manhattan that she attended. She lives in a small studio apartment and has just broken up with her boyfriend. On her 40th birthday she has dinner with her best friend, who also went to the same private school, but then her friend has to get back to her kids. Alice goes on to drink at a bar. She then stumbles to her father's home on a small lane and when she can't find the keys to get in she beds down in the nearby gardening shed. The next morning she wakes up in her childhood bed on the morning of her 16th birthday. Her father, who raised Alice as a single parent after her mother abandoned them both, is younger and healthy looking. Alice will spend part of the day with him but in the evening she is having a party while her father attends a science fiction convention downtown. Sixteen-year-old Alice, with the memories of the forty-year-old Alice, wonders if she can change things this time around so that her life and her father's improves. Of course, this is assuming that she will return to her forty-year-old self. She does but the mechanics of this time travel are sort of vague. Once back she still confronts her father dying in a hospital so she decides to try again. And again. And yet again. When father and daughter are finally able to discuss this time travel Alice learns that her father also did it. In his case he returned to the day Alice was born and he, also, tried to change things so that his wife wouldn't leave. Are they successful? If you want to know you'll have to read the book.

A review on NPR called this book "another delightful summer read". If you look at it that way, you will probably enjoy it as well.… (lisätietoja)

This was a quick, quirky read about Alice, a woman who can time travel to the date of her sixteenth birthday. The more she goes back, the more she tries to change the course of her life and save her ailing father. The writing was wonderful and the characters felt fleshed out and organic. The novel was also something of a love letter to New York which was delightful and charming to read. Despite the sometimes heavy subject matter the overall tone of the book was hopeful and optimistic, with a heartening message about embracing the messiness of life and focusing on the few things that truly matter.

I’m removing a star because, despite going back to 1996 dozens of times, Alice never once tries to stop 9/11. Selfish.
… (lisätietoja)

Oh my, what a fabulously fun book! Emma and Susan Straub have written a book epitomizing what grandparents should be. When Gaga comes to take care of her granddaughter, she makes many "mistakes." These silly amusements, such as walking backward to the park or eating marshmallow goblins to save the house, make the day delightful. Jessica Love's illustrations are outstanding. They are colorful and characterize the personalities of Gaga and the granddaughter perfectly. The story and pictures portray the love between the two. I wish this book had been around when my grandchildren were small, but I honestly think they would enjoy it now. I love this book so much!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the ARC of this book.… (lisätietoja)