Official Review: The Forgotten Timepiece by Joyce Licorish

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kimmyschemy06
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Official Review: The Forgotten Timepiece by Joyce Licorish

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Forgotten Timepiece" by Joyce Licorish.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Forgotten Timepiece: A Historical Sci-Fi Tale of Timeless Love, Self-Acceptance, and Betrayal is a poignant, touching, and memorable historical fiction written by Joyce Licorish.

SeRina Salvatore is the beautiful, seventeen-year-old, adopted daughter of the richest Italian family in a town in West Virginia. She and her closest friends, Briana and Michaela, are the most desirable girls at Arlington Manor High.

After a heartbreaking tragedy, SeRina sets out on a quest to find her biological family. Her quest takes her to the most unlikely of places and comes face-to-face with an eccentric old woman who introduces herself as her biological grandmother. Consumed by disillusionment and with her mind clouded by self-entitlement, SeRina vehemently refuses to acknowledge the truth about her heritage. This refusal only exacerbates her plight when she is mysteriously transported from the year 2009 to a plantation in the antebellum South in 1859.

With absolutely no way to go back to her own time, SeRina lives with her ancestors and experiences, first-hand, the struggle of blacks which she has always thought comical and exaggerated. She witnesses the subhuman treatment of black slaves, suffers abuse in the hands of cruel overseer, observes ruthless elimination of dispensable slaves, and gets her fate decided on by others merely based on the color of her skin. Finally, SeRina finds a new meaning to ‘freedom,’ a word which she has always considered insignificant until now.

Told in the third-person perspective and with a consistently steady pacing, this is a poignant and heart-wrenching story about slavery, discrimination, survival, and self-acceptance. The conflict is introduced early on and the intensity is maintained all throughout the book by introducing unexpected twists and surprising turns of events which lead to a satisfying climax. Dialogues are fitting for characters in both past and present time. The author creates a set of relatable and endearing characters. Though SeRina is presented as a courageous, resilient, and strong-willed woman, my favorite character is Big Sam. He is strong, kind, and gentle. He also has an extraordinarily beautiful and loving heart.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this book immensely. It vividly depicts a slice of American history. The part I like most is the author’s portrayal of racial discrimination even in the present time: how SeRina and her classmates look down on their black Social Studies teacher and how SeRina and her friends feel about the Asian pedicurist at Prissy’s Pedicure Palace. For me, it is a painful reminder that though slavery has been abolished a long, long time ago and that America is known as the land of freedom, opportunity, and equality, racism still exists.

However, there are noticeable errors within the entire book which include incorrect usage (that sounds to direct instead of too direct and Aren’t their slaves to do that? Instead of Aren’t there), missing apostrophes (come to his friends aid), missing opening quotation marks, and typo errors (what in the is so funny).

I, therefore, rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is touching and memorable. I recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction. Scenes of abuse and violence, however, may not be suitable for young readers.

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The Forgotten Timepiece
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Rachel Lea
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Post by Rachel Lea »

In my opinion (as someone who loves Back to the Future-type stories), adding time travel to a story plot almost always makes it better--or at least more interesting. :) This book covers a lot of topics that are relevant today. Thanks for your review!
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Post by Janelle Juncos »

You sold me! This is a really fascinating concept. I like the spin on your traditional time-travel story. We can only hope a good editor hops onboard. Your review is great!
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Post by kandscreeley »

Oh my! First, I LOVE SeRina's name. That's fabulous. Secondly, this sounds absolutely entertaining AND informative at the same time. It sounds like it has a great message, which I love. I think I could overlook the errors in this one. I know many times I enjoy the same books you do, so I'll look at this one. Thanks for another great review!
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Post by Brendan Donaghy »

I enjoy historical fiction and this sounds like a decent book, despite the errors, so I might give it a go. Many thanks for your review!
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Post by Agnes Masobeng »

I wonder how it would feel if in reality, one would just live with their ancestors.
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Post by T_stone »

A historical fiction about a girl, SeRina, adopted into an Italian family sounds engaging–a story about freedom, life struggles, and survival. I'd love to check this one out!

Nice review
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Post by Julie Petitbon »

This sounds like a really interesting book with a poignant message. I love the time-travel aspect and the fact that SeRina's experiences in the past and the present are relevant to today's social issues. The cover is pretty cool too! Thanks for the great review!
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Rachel Lea wrote: 14 May 2019, 07:56 In my opinion (as someone who loves Back to the Future-type stories), adding time travel to a story plot almost always makes it better--or at least more interesting. :) This book covers a lot of topics that are relevant today. Thanks for your review!
You're welcome. It is one great book!
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Janelle Juncos wrote: 14 May 2019, 08:39 You sold me! This is a really fascinating concept. I like the spin on your traditional time-travel story. We can only hope a good editor hops onboard. Your review is great!
Thank you. I enjoyed writing the review as much as I enjoyed reading the book.
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kimmyschemy06
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

kandscreeley wrote: 14 May 2019, 08:42 Oh my! First, I LOVE SeRina's name. That's fabulous. Secondly, this sounds absolutely entertaining AND informative at the same time. It sounds like it has a great message, which I love. I think I could overlook the errors in this one. I know many times I enjoy the same books you do, so I'll look at this one. Thanks for another great review!
You're welcome and thank you very much. I hope you get a chance to read it :)
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kimmyschemy06
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Brendan Donaghy wrote: 14 May 2019, 09:55 I enjoy historical fiction and this sounds like a decent book, despite the errors, so I might give it a go. Many thanks for your review!
You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

T_stone wrote: 14 May 2019, 17:24 A historical fiction about a girl, SeRina, adopted into an Italian family sounds engaging–a story about freedom, life struggles, and survival. I'd love to check this one out!

Nice review
Thank you. It's an interesting and enjoyable read.
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kimmyschemy06
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Julie Petitbon wrote: 14 May 2019, 19:57 This sounds like a really interesting book with a poignant message. I love the time-travel aspect and the fact that SeRina's experiences in the past and the present are relevant to today's social issues. The cover is pretty cool too! Thanks for the great review!
You're welcome and thank you very much. I enjoyed the book a lot.
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Post by Nicole_Boyd »

I really enjoy reading books about the civil war era and have done quite a bit if research into the era before slavery was abolished. I think it’s interesting how the author ties that in with a modern story. I would definitely like to give this one a try! 😊
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