4 out of 4 stars
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Written by Samyann Yesterday is a historical fiction novel set in the United States from 1870s to the 21century. The book is about a young lady named Amanda who saves the life of a police officer in Chicago and becomes famous for it. Friendship blossoms between them and leads to a relationship between her and the officer Mark Callahan. Amanda is however sceptical about the relationship after having lost many of her loved ones including her parents at a young age and very recently Joe who was her fiancee. She is convinced that everyone she loves is destined to die very soon.
Mary is Amanda's godmother and she helps her pick the pieces of her life together and start afresh. Amanda remembers being in an antique shop the day she saved Mark's life and got injured. She saw an old watch that she is unable to keep out of her mind. She decides to buy it but the owner knows very little about it since it is from the eighteenth century. The clock chimes and the sound is very familiar to Amanda though she cannot explain how. She also says that Mark is familiar though they had never met before the day of the accident where she saves Mark's life. Mark who had studied medicine for two years but was forced to drop out after the death of his father who was a police officer suggests regression. This is a dangerous practice that has not been scientifically proven and has many unanswered questions which makes Mary who is a psychologist to be apprehensive at first but she then agrees. The regression sessions take Amanda to her other life during the American civil war. She is a young girl named Bonnie under the care of two slaves who are Magdalene and Ben. She has a cousin Jack and her father is John. They live in Charleston in the Southern States. It is here that Bonnie first encounter bells that chime like her clock. They belong to St Michael's church and are only able to survive the war by being hidden from confederate soldiers who have been confiscating bells and melting them to make weapons. John decides they must free and he dies on way but Magdalene and Ben take care of the children till they reach a railway station. Here they meet Penelope who warns Ben and Magdalene against going to Chicago since they may be sold again as slaves despite having papers from John showing they have been set free. Penelope takes the children with her to Chicago where she works as a nurse and takes care of the children as her own.
The regression sessions continue and take a heavy toll on Amanda to the point that she almost crushes. Mark tries to stop the sessions but is unable. Many of the sessions bring more about suffering and not happiness like the Chicago fire. Amanda is soon able to regress on her own and she discovers more. With so much suffering in her life she is convinced that there is no happiness but Mary tells her to concentrate on something that would make her happy and for the first time she sees her mother in her life as Bonnie who died when she was very young. Mark also regresses but with little success. In the end Amanda discovers that Mark was her lover in her life as Bonnie and she had some happy moments.
My favorite part is how Samyann has developed the characters in the book especially Amanda, Mark and Mary who are the mainstay of the story. Also how the author has introduced new characters to develop the plot and the main character. Weaving the two stories together without causing confusion on the reader is a great feat worth praise. The excellent flow and high momentum of the book ensures that the reader does not get bored and is able to understand the story is another point. The book explains the horrors of war that many innocent people suffer and are subjected to in the event of war like the death of John. The book shows how people suffer and that at all costs we should avoid war. It also addresses serious issues that affected the 19century societies and still affect today's modern societies i.e. discrimination.
The great themes discussed in the book are love, suffering and loss and also slavery. The book is professionally edited and I was unable to find faults in it however much I tried.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars but would give it five if possible. I highly recommend the book to others readers especially those going through rough times. Also teens and young adults. Lovers of historical fiction novels are most welcome to read it. The book is well researched and accurate which is a great thing.
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Yesterday
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