Members of the Vise Library were selected to participate in a blog tour for Waking up Joy. We received a copy of Tina Ann Forkner's book for an honest review.
About the book:
Behind every lost dream lies a second chance… When adored town spinster Joy Talley ends up in a coma after a peculiar accident, she is surprised and incensed to hear what is being said in her hospital room, including plans for her funeral. When she finally wakes, her well-meaning, but bossy, brothers and sisters dismiss her claims, thinking her accident has knocked her off her rocker, but Joy has never felt better, and is determined to set the past right. Now Joy must face her darkest secret and risk reopening wounds caused by an old flame who rejected her more than twenty years ago. But taking risks brings change, as well as a new, younger man into Joy’s life, making her feel like a teenager again. Suddenly Joy’s once humdrum life is anything but boring and routine and the future beckons, exhilarating and bright.
This book starts out with the main character, Joy Talley, being rushed to the hospital. People believe she had tried to hang herself, but actually Joy was trying to revisit a secret of the past. She is in a coma while she is in the hospital and can still hear everything that happens around her. When she finally wakes from her coma she learns to take back control of her life and quit reliving old hurts and rejections. In the process she learns that during this time she has not been the only one with baggage hanging around. A lot of secrets are uncovered and Joy has to confront her past in order to move on.
Joy's family in this book was hilarious! They all had their own quirks but in the end they surround Joy with love. (Sometimes getting to that point can be a little painful though.) The whole book centers around a secret that Joy has tried to ignore for decades. When Joy finally explains what the secret is, she is not only putting her life and happiness at risk, but someone else's. The story is heartbreaking and even though there is happiness in the epilogue, there is also sadness. When the final straw is revealed, it is so sad to think about the what-ifs and time lost. Misunderstandings and resentment happened because of someone else keeping a secret from Joy. I liked how once Joy woke up from her coma she tried to seize opportunities and try to help people. This story makes you think about people's hurt that happen in their lives. Some people may not always be nice, but there may be reasons for that. Also most of the characters had some sort of secret and in the end they all come out. This was a great read!
Joy's family in this book was hilarious! They all had their own quirks but in the end they surround Joy with love. (Sometimes getting to that point can be a little painful though.) The whole book centers around a secret that Joy has tried to ignore for decades. When Joy finally explains what the secret is, she is not only putting her life and happiness at risk, but someone else's. The story is heartbreaking and even though there is happiness in the epilogue, there is also sadness. When the final straw is revealed, it is so sad to think about the what-ifs and time lost. Misunderstandings and resentment happened because of someone else keeping a secret from Joy. I liked how once Joy woke up from her coma she tried to seize opportunities and try to help people. This story makes you think about people's hurt that happen in their lives. Some people may not always be nice, but there may be reasons for that. Also most of the characters had some sort of secret and in the end they all come out. This was a great read!
About the author:
Tina Ann Forkner is the author of WAKING UP JOY (Tule Publishing Group). She is also the author of RUBY AMONG US and ROSE HOUSE (Random House). When she isn't writing, Tina is a substitute teacher and lives with her family in Wyoming.
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