Sara

I hovered between a 3 and 4 star rating for this book. I really liked it until the ending. The ending of the story felt rushed, underdeveloped, and underwent a tone shift that did not fit with the feel of the rest of the book. But until the ending, the book was filled with all things I love: books and the power of stories, beautiful natural scenery, and Scotland!

I loved this book. It was a series of simple but heartwarming, and at times laugh out loud funny, stories. The stories told were mostly about his childhood and college years, it did not focus on Hollywood or his rise to ‘fame', which was refreshing. The writing felt authentic and made it seem as if you were able to get a real sense of the author and his values. Also, listening to the audiobook read by the author made it so much better!

I really wanted to love this book, but there was something for me that was lacking in it. The potential was there, but I did not connect with the characters enough and the story felt rushed and underdeveloped at points. It is still a good (and sad) story, but for me I needed some more description and character development.

While I enjoyed this book, I would disagree with the book's description of the stories and essays as “hope-filled”. Several of her essays are definitely inspiring and she intelligently articulates what so many university aged students feel and struggle with. However, the fiction stories, in my opinion, are not “hope-filled”. They are sad, challenging, thought-provoking, and at times hauntingly beautiful. This was my first delve into short stories and I must say that even with their brevity, Keegan was able to develop the story with such detail, description, and emotion, that I felt I knew the characters as if from a full length novel and was always left wishing they were longer.