3 out of 4 stars
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This is a review of the book Family Myths by Tamara Merrill. This is a fiction narrating the story of a woman who faces many challenges in her life with grit and grace. This is the third book of the Augustus Family Trilogy by the author.
Serena, the protagonist of the story, runs away from her home when she’s a college student. She starts living her life on her own terms. She does menial jobs for her survival. She meets Logan, a Navy officer, and gets acquainted with him. Logan goes away on duty often for extended periods of time although he keeps in touch with Serena through letters. Serena is confused about how to take the relationship forward. In the meantime, she faces a major personal challenge which needs a decision right away. That decision would change her life forever. How Serena handles this gracefully and how she faces her life with determination is the rest of the story.
What I like most about the story is the strong building of Serena’s character. There are several instances in which Serena faces a dilemma of how to handle the situation. In each of these situations, the author portrays Serena as a strong-minded, sensible woman who uses her sound mind to make a wise decision. The story also highlights several admirable values that one can appreciate. For example, Serena’s will to build her career in spite of the challenges is something every reader would applaud while reading the story. The intense emotions and feelings of the protagonist have been expressed beautifully.
The story highlights the difficulties in having a relationship with a military person. The story also highlights the perils of getting drunk in public places and its consequences. Serena’s colleague Carol’s support to Serena is an exemplification of how people should help each other during tough times. The sections narrating Serena’s family are long-winded and sometimes make the reader feel bored. For the most part, the story happens in California. The author gives a glimpse of San Francisco with the sights and the sounds of that tourist destination.
The proofreading of the book has not been done well. There are several instances of mechanical errors like missing punctuation marks, wrong word usages, etc. I didn’t find any spelling mistake in this book. Several pages have been left blank without any explanation.
Overall, I found this book a great read! It narrates how to be determined and how to face life’s challenges head-on. The book is suitable for all audiences although some parental guidance is advised for the adolescents and the children. The struggles that Serena goes through depict the real world challenges that exist out there. How she handles those challenges is an inspiration for anyone who feels down or discouraged with their life. There are many values that are shared in this story that one can think of imbibing in their own life. The characters are built strong and the storytelling is pretty vivid. I wonder if the author considered making a movie out of this story. I would have rated this fantastic book a 4 out of 4 stars. Since there are formatting and mechanical errors present, I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars.
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Family Myths
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