Review - The Visitor: A Magical Understanding of Uncertainty by Karen McDermott

Sometimes things happen to test us, it's only if we pass the test do we receive the true gift. The time has come for the visitor to arrive. When this happens it is a life changing event for those he encounters. Their lives have reached a turning point and with the watchful eye of the "Visitor" they will each recieve a gem. By passing the test comes the opportunity to recieve the true gift if they are fortunate enough. His journey with each of these five women leads him to not only change their lives but also his own. From all negative situations is the potential for a positive outcome.

I read The Visitor by Karen McDermott some months ago. It's taken a while for the review because for the longest time I wasn't sure what to make of the book.

It took me a long time to understand exactly what was happening. Which, I will admit, was very frustrating. I don't like being more than halfway through a book without the slightest clue as to what's going on. Things were introduced but not explained and so I was left to try and piece together meaning on my own, which is fine for a lot of books. But not books like this one.

The main character, The Visitor, is who is narrating the story and giving us glimpses in to each one of these "situations" (there are a few different stories within the story). He gives each subject a "gem" and then observes them for some time to determine which subject is worthy enough to keep the gift that comes with each gem.

That was one of the parts that got to me. Is that the "gems" are not explained. It's just assumed that you know what they are and then left at that. So I was left confused for a long time until I realized, through the subjects themselves, what was going on.

I don't want to give too much away. I will say that the ending was a surprise one. And not exactly one that I was thrilled with for several different reasons. One is a reason, not personal to myself but to a family member of mine, and not something that I take lightly.

I guess I'm still not sure what to make of this book. And I know this review was kind of all over the place, but that illustrates my feelings on the whole thing. Had the concept been explained a little bit better from the beginning, I think it would have been an easier and somewhat more enjoyable read. But it wasn't. And I don't like giving negative reviews so I'm not going to say that I disliked it, but I will say that it wasn't a favorite.

In My Mailbox #28

Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren for hosting In My Mailbox every week!

I didn't get anything last week but I DID get a few great books THIS week. One, I finished and put my review up for yesterday. Hehe. I couldn't put it down.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Blue by Lou Aronica (for review)

Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.

The Visitor by Karen McDermott (for review)

Sometimes things happen to test us, it's only if we pass the test do we receive the true gift. The time has come for the visitor to arrive. When this happens it is a life changing event for those he encounters. Their lives have reached a turning point and with the watchful eye of the Visitor they will each recieve a gem. By passing the test comes the opportunity to recieve the true gift if they are fortunate enough. His journey with each of these five women leads him to not only change their lives but also his own.