Reviews for Seventeen Second Miracle

The average rating for Seventeen Second Miracle based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-02-16 00:00:00 Todd Torres A "miracle" is defined as an extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers. The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright, is a story about tragedy, forgiveness, hope, love, healing....and miracles. The theme of this book is that it only takes a few seconds to change another person's life....for the good or for the bad. The title of the book refers to the 17 seconds it took for a young girl to drown. Seventeen year old Rex Conner was swimming with his girlfriend "Sparks" and her sister "Flick" on Flick's 8th birthday. Flicks mother left Rex responsible for watching the young girl while she played in the water. When Rex turns his attention away for only those few seconds the girl drowns. He tries to revive her but to no avail and the mother holds him responsible. Rex was overcome with grief and guilt. He gradually started noticing others and their needs. He started doing small acts of random kindness. He also noticed nice things that others did for him. When he shared this with Sparks she told him to write these things down in a daily journal. He would let Sparks read his journal regularly. Then Sparks started her own journal, writing down all that Rex was doing to help others, his "Seventeen Second Miracles". Rex passed his journals and his legacy of doing good down to his son, Cole. Cole's father taught him that "love is a verb" and that "doing good" is not the same as being a "do good" person who has self-centered motives. Cole led a "Seventeen Second Miracle Discussion Group" with high school students that were hand-picked by the school principal. You see, the principal had been profoundly touched by one of Rex Conner's "seventeen second miracles" when he was a young man. Miracles are all around us if we open our eyes and our hearts to see them. It might take 17 seconds or five hours to reach out and make a difference in another life. Love is a verb and the time spent doing good is not wasted.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-12-31 00:00:00 Robert Paun I feel like a jerk saying that I didn't much like this book, but I have to be honest. I have read The Wednesday Letters and Christmas Jars by Wright and enjoyed them very much, so I was excited to get Seventeen Second Miracle. I was certain I was going to love it. I was shocked when I didn't - I had to force myself to finish it. It's not that the story itself or the idea of the seventeen second miracle is bad - I think reminding people to notice others' needs and offer help and kindnesses in all kinds of circumstances is great. But I was turned off by a main character who was gooey and syrupy to excess ... a little goes a long way, and I found the "hero" and founder of it all, to be unbelievably perfect. It annoyed me - a miracle or doing nothing but good every single day, sometimes at the expense of his family. I get it - I should give more and take less. But sometimes, people get grumpy. They argue. Sometimes, it's understandable that a kid will be disappointed because his dad pushes his son's plans to the bottom of the pile because there was someone else in need. There was always someone in need, and the wise sayings and advice never stopped flowing from the always kind, always patient dad who just couldn't understand why a 6th-grader might be upset that Dad couldn't find a way to compromise and help someone while also doing something nice for his son.