3 out of 4 stars
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There will always be those words spoken, paths chosen, or mistakes made we wish we could change or undo. We have many reasons for harboring the desire for the opportunity to have something from the past done differently. In some ways, the inability to change our pasts is a blessing and a curse. We are not privy to the consequences that could result from any change to our pasts. We probably don’t even consider that there would be consequences beyond the desired result. On the flip side, the inability to change the past means we don’t get the desired shift we wish we could attain. Christine Reed in The Status Update has the unique opportunity to face this double-edged sword; she has the chance to save herself a great deal of emotional and physical pain, but if she succeeds in changing the past she won’t be able to predict if there will be a butterfly effect.
Sonia J. Buck writes the tale of a heartbroken Christine Reed who has spent the past decade suffering both physically and emotionally. Christine is still trying to cope with the aftermath of a family tragedy that took place ten years ago. One lonely night, surrounded by the remnants of what used to be a happy life with her three children, Christine pulls up a long-forgotten Facebook page. On her page, there appears to be a hacker. The hacker turns out to be Christine herself from ten years prior, before the family tragedy occurred. Christine can now tell her past self about the tragedy in an attempt to avoid it. Will she choose to do so with the realization that she doesn’t know the true outcome that will result from shifting the events of the past? Could she even convince her former self to follow any advice she might give?
The family tragedy that Christine is so anxious to undo unfolds early in the story, and Buck writes the event with great emotional depth. Her description of the tragedy brought tears to my eyes. It was easy to imagine how any woman would be desperate to change what happens in Christine’s life. I was impressed by how well Buck was able to draw me into Christine’s life; she made me feel Christine’s emotional pain.
Buck was also able to connect me with Christine by thoroughly describing the love Christine has for her children. I could feel the depth of Christine’s love for her kids on every page, especially in the description of how touched she is by a Christmas gift her oldest two children, twins, give her. Christine is a model for how all parents should feel about their children. Her love jumps off the page continuously throughout the whole story and never falters.
The Status Update is a wonderful story about the importance of family. It also provides the warning that actions have consequences, and we can rarely predict what those consequences will be. The only thing I did not enjoy about this story is that the conversation between the two Christines is shared from the perspectives of both, the present Christine and the past Christine. By doing this, Buck has pages that are verbatim copies of previous pages. The overlap in text is brief, and it does serve a purpose. It is beneficial to the reader to understand the thoughts of both Christines during the conversation. However, I think some readers would find the repetition dull, as I did.
Aside from the short period of repeated conversation, the only flaw I found with The Status Update is the ending. I was startled by the way Buck chose to end the novel, and I was not astonished in a good way. I wish I had stopped reading before I reached the final page. I understand there is a lesson to be learned from how Buck chose to end the story, but the conclusion was a disappointment for this particular reader.
The Status Update is worthy of 3 out of 4 stars. I cannot fault Buck for the way she chose to end the story because I understand her purpose, and it is just my personal preference for Buck to have chosen to conclude her book in a different way. What I can fault her for are the number of errors in such a short book, less than 120 pages. More than once Buck confuses custom and costume as well as credulous and credible. A few other minor errors were noted including missing commas, incorrect word tenses, and a missing pronoun. If I were able, I would only remove half a star for the errors because I don’t think any of my other complaints are sufficient to justify lowering the rating, and the errors themselves did not detract from my enjoyment of this story. Overall, this is a great book for adults who enjoy reading about the depths of a mother’s love and what a woman will do for her family. I advise that anyone who may have a hard time reading about the nature of the tragedy not read this novel. I wish I could provide a more specific warning, but that would give away details any reader should experience for himself by reading Buck’s emotionally charged description of the event.
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The Status Update
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