October xxx, 2014 · 11:23 am

Review and Giveaway: A Sudden Calorie-free by Garth Stein

I received an Advanced Review re-create from the author in exchange for an honest review.  I invite you lot to read my review, watch the book trailer and win your own SIGNED hardcopy of the book (US/Canada).

My Review:

A Sudden LightThe first thing that struck me nigh A SUDDEN Calorie-free is the rich and flowing prose that immediately sweeps the reader into the story.  Information technology begins on a very philosophical note that reminds me of a common theme in Greek mythology: a curse.  When something of beauty is destroyed, the ancestors of the destroyer are cursed and pass on this curse until someone, somewhere forth the family unit line is able to make amends.  The universe must be paid back in guild for the curse to exist broken.

Trevor is a xiv year erstwhile boy who had a happy and normal life with his parents growing up in Connecticut.  But whatever contentment he has experienced in his life is cleaved when his parents determine to separate.  Due to his dad's poor fiscal planning, his family has likewise gone bankrupt and they have lost their house in Connecticut.  Trevor'due south mother takes off for England to stay with her parents and Trevor travels with his father to visit his father's family in Seattle.  Information technology is strange and alarming that Trevor has never met his paternal grandfather or his Aunt Selena.

When Trevor arrives at his ancestral habitation in Seattle, he discovers that Riddell Business firm and his family have a long and tragic history which is slowly revealed to him throughout his visit.  His great-great grandfather, Elijah Riddell, Trevor learns, made a vast fortune from ownership land, clearing forests and selling the timber.  Riddell House itself is made from this plundered timber and information technology is now falling into a state of decay and receding back into the forest from which information technology came.  What will be the fate of this ancestral homestead and the prized forest on which information technology sits?

Garth Stein'due south ability to create interesting and dynamic characters is nothing short of literary genius.  The reader is instantaneously drawn to Trevor, a 14 year former boy who is not quite an adult but is astute enough to know that what is going on around him at Riddell Business firm does non seem right.  He is able to research and delve into his family'south history and even connect with the spirits of past relatives who withal dwell at Riddell House.

Selena, Trevor's eccentric aunt, seems squeamish and kind simply there is something peculiar about her and at times her behavior fifty-fifty appears to exist sinister.  Like everyone else in the family unit, she has been damaged by the family unit's tragic past and she is and so drastic to make her life into something else.  Granddaddy Samuel displays the signs of dementia just he has moments of lucidity during which he reveals family secrets to Trevor.  And Trevor's father is clearly scarred by whatsoever drove him from Riddell House as a teenager and has kept him abroad ever since.

There are so many reasons why I enthusiastically recommend reading A SUDDEN Lite.  The prose of this novel is enchanting and matches the dream like country of Riddell Firm.  The plot, which blends historical fiction, ghost story and family saga, is riveting as the Riddell family unit secrets are slowly unraveled to u.s.a. through a series of old letters, diary entries and dreams.  Finally, the multi-dimensional characters cause you to have an emotional attachment to them and you volition be lamentable to see them go when y'all close the final page of the book.  I suggest that you quickly finish whatever book you are reading now and follow Trevor through his journey in A SUDDEN Calorie-free past Garth Stein.

Nigh the Author:
garth_stein_1111_1-199x300Garth Stein is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain,
published in 30-5 languages, and two previous novels, How Evan Broke His Head and Other
Secrets and Raven Stole the Moon. He is the cofounder of Seattle7Writers, a non-profit collective of Northwest authors working to foster a passion for the written word. He lives in Seattle with his family. Observe out more than at: www.GarthStein.com.  For expanded content about A SUDDEN Lite please visit: www.asuddenlight.com.  Please too spotter the book trailer for a clarification of the volume in the author'south own words:

Giveaway:
This giveaway is for a SIGNED Hardcopy of A Sudden Low-cal.  It is open to residents of the U.s. or Canada.  To enter, please exit me a annotate below in the comment section and permit me know what about this book appeals to y'all.  A winner will be randomly selected from all entries.  Contest ends 11/ii at 12:00 a.thou. EST.