G798 Book Review of the extraordinary journey of Vivienne Marshall by Shannon Kirk
Author: Shannon Kirk
ISBN: 978-1-944387-08-2
Publisher: Reputation Books
Type of book:Heaven, life after death, decorating heaven, friends, lovers, past, present, future, hospital, secrets, single parenting, choices
Year it was published: 2016
Summary:
What if you could choose your heaven now? Go on a celestial shopping trip of sorts? Thirty-five-year-old Vivienne does just that, as she lies dying in the ICU; a fatal walk into the path of a truck. In her final week of life, Vivienne treks through the Heavens of a priest, a best friend, a homeless child, and a lover who never was. Vivienne’s guardian angel, Noah, who may just be her soul mate, escorts her through selections of Heavens and through the confusion Vivienne experiences as she flounders between a doubt of life and the certainty of death. Although her visits to varied afterlives provide peace and beauty, choosing proves not so easy: Vivienne’s love for her young son and her earthly father pull her from her colorful journey—and from her divine love of Noah.
The nature of love, the variety and magic of life, unending hope, and the importance of saying goodbye are central to this uplifting tale.
Characters:
Main characters include Vivienne Marshall, a 35 year old woman who got into the accident and is in the hospital hovering between life and death. Vivienne is extremely loyal and protective of her son Ivan and despite making some mistakes, she does her best to rectify them. Noah is Vivienne's former crush/lover and is also her guardian angel in heaven, taking her to different heavens so she can choose what her heart desires. In life he got into an accident and became handicapped. Marty is a gay nurse with secrets of his own who is in the book more for comic relief and who also makes awesome pain killer cocktails and keeps Vivienne entertained. Jack is Vivienne's paramour and is Ivan's father. Ivan is Vivienne's son and loves the book The One and Only Ivan.
Theme:
Don't fear death
Plot:
The story is in first person narrative and shifts quite a lot from present to past to future when Ivan is chronicling what happened to him after his mother's death. When the point of view switches to Ivan's, the reader does have warning. While I was okay with the constant shifting, I do feel that the average reader might find it a bit frustrating because in addition to seeing different heavens, the reader is also learning about Vivienne's life and is learning about what happens to her family after her death. At times I think I also lost the thread of what has happened in the story. Still, in times of sorrow and tragedy it is good to have a book that can be a comfort to someone.
(From iRead Book Tours)
Meet the Author:
Shannon Kirk is the awarding-winning author of the international bestselling Method 15/33 (psychological thriller--bestseller in Colombia and Spain, will be lead title in Italy, 2017) and Heavens (Literary Fiction). Method 15/33 has received multiple accolades: 2015 Foreword Review Book of the Year (Suspense); Winner of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, Best Suspense; 2015 USA Best Book Finalist; School Library Journal's Best Adult Books for Teens (2015); and Finalist in 2013 William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (when a Novella). Method 15/33 is optioned for a major motion film and has sold to nineteen foreign rights.
When not writing, she is a practicing lawyer, residing on Massachusett's Cape Ann with her husband and son and two cat writing accomplices, Marvin Marquez (in honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) and Stewie Poe (Edgar Allen Poe).
Shannon enjoys writing in several genres: literary fiction, psychological thriller, young adult, and poetry. She has been honored three times by the William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
Opinion:
Last year, I recall reading The Light of Grace; Story of an angel which I've found to be a beautiful story once I overlooked the historical inaccuracies.Reading this book is a bit similar to The Light of Grace in terms of subject matter (heaven) and what possibly happens there. In addition to finding it beautiful, the reader can also find comfort within the pages. I also am wondering if the story is dealing with emotions and grief of someone who knows they will die, kind of a rite of passage towards death I am thinking. I am confused by the rules, at least I'm pretty sure that one of them is that a child cannot visit their parents' heaven or something of the kind, yet the rule is not strictly followed or enforced.
This is for iRead Book Tours
TOUR SCHEDULE:
Jan 16 - #redhead.with.book - book spotlight / giveaway
Jan 17 - Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
Jan 17 - A Soccer Mom's Book Blog - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Jan 19 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
Jan 20 - Olio by Marilyn - review / author interview / giveaway
Jan 23 - 3 Partners in Shopping Nana, Mommy + Sissy Too! - review / giveaway
Jan 24 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway
Jan 25 - Thoughts on Books - review / giveaway
Jan 25 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
Jan 26 - Books for Books - review
Jan 27 - The Autistic Gamer - review
Jan 30 - Turning the Pages - review
Jan 31 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review / guest post / giveaway
Feb 1 - Shoshi Reads - review / giveaway
Feb 2 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
Feb 3 - Jessica Cassidy - review / author interview / giveaway
Feb 3 - Jorie Loves A Story - review
TBD - Turning the Pages - author interview / giveaway
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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