Book Review - Saving Sailor
BOOK REVIEW
SAVING SAILOR - RENEE RIVA
BOOK RATING : 5/5!
I don't even know where to start, this book was so good! It was just the story I needed to read... leaving me with so much hope and encouragement all I want to do is read it again and again so I can keep feeling all the wonder of a ten year old girl who always looks for the best in others despite their outer shell and dares to dream big. The character of A.J. has so much imagination it's no wonder the author, who the character was based on, became such a marvelous storyteller and I can't wait to find some other books by Renée Riva. She's amazing!
I really love the setting in which this book takes place. I've always liked the 50's and 60's eras. It seems like families had a better chance to bond through activities then than they do now. Like Riva explains in her interview, most families are now caught up in technology and stuff like that...they don't really appreciate the little things anymore like rowing with your dog in the middle of the pond and watching the sun set. It's little things like that that I wish I could do more often.
The spiritual message in the book is also very inspiring. In the end, the character you did not think would ever change, Jack the cheating husband, saved A.J.'s life and with that realized how horrible a person he had turned out to be and decided to change and be baptized. Everyone basically in the end seemed to change and appreciate all that they had taken for granted before. I feel the same way A.J. felt at the end, that when you know God, people can tell! It changes you in a way that is obvious, it makes you shine. I got so emotional when she said that!
I love that A.J. talks in a southern accent, much to her mother's annoyance. I really love these two characters despite it all because even though her mother complains about A.J.'s differences, she loves her so much and accepts her for who she is. I also love how her mother is just as bizzare as she is. She definitely has a flair for the dramatic too. I don't think I've ever laughed harder than at the parts where she was pretending to be Sophia Lauren.
Her father too, was hilarious. Basicall the whole family was amusing. I found myself wanting to be invited to their parties even if it is a work of fiction and I can't enter the book myself. The truth or dare prank is what really made me wish I could be there. I mean how funny is it to prank someone in an outhouse to thinking there's a person trapped in the toilet? I couldn't stop laughing, it was hard for me to read on. Then the poor lady thought she was going crazy because there was nobody there. Ha!
I have to say I actually do relate a lot to A.J. I too love animals immensely. If I could open up my own Pet palace I totally would. I remember asking my mom for so many different pets but she had to turn me down a lot because she figured she wouldn't be able to manage most of them. The only pets I've ever gotten were a fish, a dog, and a cat. My begging for a turtle, bird, hamster, snake, iguana, horse, and a dolphin went unanswered. Of course I realized not too long after that that no matter how cute dolphins are, the only way I'd ever have one for a pet was if I became a marine biologist, but it didn't stop me from wishing!
So I encourage everyone to read this book because I feel anyone would benefit from reading it. I certainly benefited from it and I find myself suddenly wanting to experience life to the fullest...go camping, catch fish, hike a mountain or something that will just get me in tune with the world and with my family. I'm so overdue for a beach vacation!
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Book Info --->https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18802218-saving-sailor
About the Author --->https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/580312.Renee_Riva
Quiz ---->https://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/36199-saving-sailor-quiz