Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Review # 7

dark matter

 

This week my review is the novel Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. When I first started reading this book, it got my attention. Some books are hard for me to get into, but not this book. Very good and very different.

#Spoil Alert

This book follows Jason Dessen, a physicist teacher at a college. He has the perfect life: a wife, a son, a warm house to come home to in Chicago, IL. What he doesn’t know, is that everything is about to change. His wife Daniella convinces him to go out to a bar to have a drink with his friend Ryan. On his way home, he decides to take a different way and grab some ice cream so he can enjoy it with his family. Suddenly someone approaches him with a gun in the shadows. He doesn’t see his face. He tells Jason to get into his car and drive to an abandoned warehouse. When they get there, Jason is beside himself. He doesn’t understand what this guy wants. He starts to beg and plead for his life. The other guy then tells him to take off all his clothes and walk down a dark hallway. Jason does as he is told. They arrive at a dark area and the guy tells him to put on some clothes and then injects him with a serum.

Jason falls asleep and when he wakes up, he doesn’t know where he’s at. He’s in a building that looks like a scientists wet dream. A man runs over to him, excitedly. He kept saying ‘oh my god it worked!’ Jason had no idea where he was and who this guy was. He asks Jason all kinds of questions about this portal, and Jason is confused.

He comes to realize that this other person that kidnapped him, was his other self. On the opposite vortex there was another Jason, who did all he dreamed of. But he made this portal that can transport you into another parallel universe. The other Jason was home with his wife and son and this Jason was here at the lab, confused.

Jason decides to go back into this portal with syringes that contain a solution that will help him crossover. When he goes back in, it’s a long dark hallway. He continues walking and sees dozens of doors. He doesn’t know yet what the purpose is of these doors, so he keeps on walking. Eventually he walks through one of the doors, he’s trying to get back to his home. As he goes through the door, his world is completely different. His house has changed, and things are different even with his wife and son. He doesn’t understand what has happened and why things have changed.

The whole book is Jason going through various worlds to find HIS world. He’s tired, upset, lonely, and he misses his family.

#Warning: Don’t read if you don’t want to know the ending

By the end of the book, Jason has one ampule left to take. He figured out a formula to finally get back to his world. He outsmarts the hundreds of other Jason’s that have arrived (Which I still don’t know how that happened). He gets Daniella to believe that he his the real Jason and she believes him. They go to a cabin in Wisconsin I believe and take shelter to figure out to get rid of the Jason impostors.

At the end Jason takes the last ampule with his wife and son. Jason told his son to conjure up something beautiful in his mind and then they would walk through a door.

I gave this book four stars, only because some things I were confused about. If you like science fiction, you should read this book. It really makes you think!

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Review # 4 Ready Player One

This review is geared toward the book Ready Player One, not the movie. I have yet to see the movie because I like to read the book first. So let me delve right into it…

I personally gave the book a 5 star rating! At first it was hard to get into because their were so many things going on. Once I passed the first chapter I got really into it. The main character was described so much in detail that I felt like I knew him personally. All the other characters were equally very describable. The one character who was a girl called Art3mis was probably one of my favorites because well it was a girl. the book is based on a video game called the OASIS, which is basically a program that James Halliday conjured up before he passed away. He decided to make a running contest after he passed on that if a Gunter (which is a gamer) could collect these magical keys then they could get his company. That basically sums it up.

The main character Parzival (Wade Wilson) is this geeky high school kid and they live in this world where virtual reality is the norm. They boot up and then all day they’re succumbed to a virtual world. The United States and the world is basically a shit-hole now so that’s why the virtual reality makes life so much more enjoyable.

I had so much fun reading this book just because I love video games. The idea that it takes place in the future and that virtual reality is the norm just seemed crazy but hey you never know. I thought the concept was pretty outlandish. Could you imagine a world where you go into a virtual reality world and that’s the norm? I can’t haha that just seems far out. I thought it was cool though.

I can’t wait to watch the movie now! I heard it was good but I haven’t much more than that. The movie came out the same time as the superhero movies so they’re more popular. This movie had a lot of everything: Action, drama, suspense, even some romance. I enjoyed it very much, that’s why I gave it a five star rating.

M.

Posted on by Melissa Rose Bushey: Author

Review # 3 Fly Away

Fly Away

I read the final book in the Firefly Lane series. Fly Away was in my opinion a really great book. It was so heart-warming and touched me in the right spot. The writing was excellent and I fell in love with the characters.

THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS!!

So the journey continues with Tully and Kate but after Kate passes away. Tully is destroyed by the loss of her best friend and she doesn’t know how to cope. Kate’s husband Johnny is beyond upset by his wife’s death and he doesn’t know how to handle their 3 kids. Marah who is the elder daughter of Johnny and Kate, spirals out of control with the passing of her mom’s death.

The story focuses on Tully and Marah. Tully is her godmother and promises to be there for her but Tully becomes a total recluse. She starts taking Xanax and drinking excessively. Marah wants to leave her family and move in with Tully. Tully agrees but Johnny is beside himself. He doesn’t want his family apart but he reluctantly agrees to it. They move to Seattle and Marah notices that Tully is out of control. She takes Marah to therapy because she feels it would be good for her to talk about her mother.

When she goes to therapy she meets a boy who ends up destroying Marah’s life. She moves out of Tully’s apartment and in with her new boyfriend.  They start drinking a lot and doing drugs. She stops talking to Tully and to her family. She starts to spiral out of control.

The story takes a turn when Tully crashes into a wall and ends up in a coma. She sees herself in the hospital room with her lifeless body surrounded by doctors and sometimes by family. Kate comes to her and Tully is so happy to see her. They relive their experiences of their childhood and Tully’s mother. The relationship of Tully and her mother, if you read the first book, you know is strained. In this book, they talk about Tully’s mother and how she ended up the way she did. In the end of the story Tully is being taken care of by her mother and is living in the house she grew up on Firefly Lane. Tully comes out of her coma when she hears the sound of Marah reading the journal of Kate.

To me I thought this story was amazing. They brought everyone together. I enjoyed reading about each character and how each one had a purpose. From Kate’s parents to Kate’s family and even to Tully’s mother. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It was definitely a feel good book. If you read Firefly Lane then you should read Fly Away. Although the journey of Kate and Tully are over, I’ll always have a special spot in my heart for them. Well done Hannah!

M.