Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Journey by John A. Heldt

Title: The Journey
Author: John A. Heldt
Publication Date: November 3, 2012
Length: about 242 pages (ebook)

The Journey is part of the same series as The Mine, but it has different characters. This one stars a 48 year old woman named Michelle. Her husband has just died, and she's starting to regret some of her life decisions. She goes to her high school reunion, a she and some old friends decide to take a tour of an abandoned house, where a family disappeared back in their high school days. Michelle enters a mysterious room, and comes out in 1979.

For the first few chapters of this book, I worried a bit that it might just be a rehashing of The Mine. But very soon, my worries faded away. While similar in style and topic, The Journey is a very different story. For one thing, Michelle only goes back in time 31 years. She sees herself as a high school student, her parents and best friend still living. Her concerns about changing the course of history are very real; she can change her own life.

And unlike Joel, who tried not to change things, Michelle jumps right in, trying to make a difference in people's lives, including her own. She's a great character. (And yay for older female characters doing cool things!!)

Parts of this book are also told from the point of view of the younger Michelle (Shelly). That adds an interesting perspective, as Shelly gets to know Michelle, the mysterious woman with whom she seems to have so much in common.

The Journey is a beautiful story about a woman who has a lot of regrets about the way she's lived her life, and is presented with an opportunity to go back and make better choices for herself. It's a great feel-good story.

5 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.

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