May 26, 14
5 of 5 stars
Read in May, 2014
As far as disaster books go, I really appreciated how
Ms. Hathaway started the story with her character experiencing the beginning of
the changes. Because she did this, we got to hear about "the
beginning" later on again when the main character, Erika, told other
people about her adventure. The more she told her story, the more she became a
legend for not only the other survivors, but also the reader. I really liked
this aspect of the book because it meant not only did the character have a rich
history, but we had been there to share it with her when no other characters
were around, almost making us a character in the story as well.
I really liked how Erika used her faith and her desire to get back to her
family as a deep motivation to survive and reach for things other characters
may not have been able to achieve.
As a mother, the story was compelling to me because of course I wanted to know
what would happen with her family and if they would be safe. I also liked how
Erika began to meet up with other survivors along the way and hear their
stories of survival. Each story was almost like a superhero origins story.
I liked how Erika was such a strong character. I
appreciated the special skills she used to get her to the next leg of her
journey. The way she escaped her initial ordeal and the way she used every bit
of what she could salvage along the way made the story interesting and
detail-filled.
Ms. Hathaway did a great job of creating a rich landscape for the reader's
imagination. There were a few times
when the details in the beginning bogged down the story a bit--I felt myself
anxious to move on and find out what happened--and a few times when the details
were not able to paint as clear of a picture as I wanted in my mind, but
overall I felt the details served the story well.
As a first book, I think Ms. Hathaway created an amazing experience. I think some of the sentence structures
and tenses were a bit awkwardly inelegant, but I'm sure that's something that
can be easily ironed out over time. Aside from the sentence structure issues
and a few scattered grammatical problems, this book was a joy to read. None of
the small problems made me want to read it less.
I found myself coming back to the book again and again. The book became a
treasured ritual in the morning and afternoon, a respite and small break from
the day. I would read a bit while drinking my coffee and found myself
disappointed when I had to put it down. In fact, now that the book is done, I
find myself looking around for a book of comparable comfort and excitement, and
am not finding it on my shelf. I find myself very disappointed that this story
is over and look forward with energy to her next book!
Sara F. Hathaway
Sara F. Hathaway is the author of
the The Changing Earth Series:
Day After Disaster and
Without Land. She also
hosts
The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with
educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a
profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors
from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In
her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and
forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront
in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business
management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights
in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband
and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels.
For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring
everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit:
www.authorsarafhathaway.com
