Reviews for The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors: A Novel

The average rating for The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors: A Novel based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-06-15 00:00:00 Michael Kushla I really don't know what to say about this book. My main comment would have to be that the publisher's blurb is completely useless. You keep waiting for the two main characters to meet and connect, but they don't until the book is nearly over and then it's anti-climatic. I felt a lot of sympathy for both Becca and Buckley and was cheering them on, but it came to nothing. The book totally fizzled by the end and I think the author kind of cheated with the "where they are now" epilogue for all the characters, including minor ones. I did find the stuff about lightning strikes interesting and I loved the descriptions of Becca's paintings and her creative process. I really disliked the narrator for the audio book. She did a very poor job with the voices of children and men. (For a narrator who does children well, check out the guy who does The Irresistible Henry House. He does great children and women.) On the non-dialogue parts, she was so monotone. I was really torn between 2 and three stars because I think the narration negatively affected my reaction to the story. This might be a good book to check out of the library. It's short and it does have some good stuff in it. It's got a couple of main characters who are worth knowing. I definitely suggest avoiding the audio version.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-01-24 00:00:00 Ben Sonal I kept hoping that it would improve, but no such luck. This is shallow, immature, gimmick-laden tripe. Very disappointing. Neither well written nor well told. Much of it was dull, and the pacing was terrible. Also, it was irritating to have the author arbitrarily break the 4th wall, over-explain EVERYTHING, and the "where are they now" at the end was a low cop out. The cast of characters was large and tritely sketched. Even the major characters felt one-dimensional, their inner lives poorly described, and it difficult to care about them. The dialogue was occasionally ridiculous - I wish I had the heart to go back and pull some, but I'd rather just delete this book from my Kindle and forget about it.