Jocelyn's Journal

by K.D. Rawden

Given the average life expectancy of a woman living in America, barring illness or freak accident, Melanie Folk estimates that she has 18,980 days remaining in her life. Each day, she works at a job that she hates and rips another page off of the calendar in her mind, longing for that day of her sweet release. She can make it work. She’s always been good at getting by.This plan seems to work well for her, until one morning when Melanie is shaken by an event which changes her perception of life and leaves her with an overwhelming urge to run. When her parents decide to sell the house which once belonged to her deceased grandmother, Melanie seizes the opportunity, volunteering for the job of getting the house ready for sale. Once she is hundreds of miles away from anything familiar to her, Melanie sees her world changing before her eyes, and she begins to experience the joys of independence for the very first time. She also finds the journal of a woman named Jocelyn, who moved into the same house with her new husband, during the turbulent days of the late 1930’s.As Melanie explores the bright new world around her, she finds comfort and inspiration in the writings of the woman who had gone through a similar adventure decades before. Melanie’s comfort is short lived, however, as the experiences of the two women soon begin to diverge in ways both unexpected and tragic.

Genres: Suspense, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Drama

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 2011

Reviews

[Terri Tinkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another free book on my Kindle. I enjoyed this story. I always love books that have journals or diaries or letters that are found and reveal a back story. This book did not disappoint. A young woman who still lives with her parents and is working at a job in her father's business is so bored and so tired of being told what to do. So when her grandmother passes away, she volunteers to go to her grandmother's home and clean it up so it can be put on the real estate market. While she is there, she discovers a journal that belonged to the original owner of the house and she starts to read. She discovers information about the town and she soon learns more about her family's background. Of course, there is a mystery and she makes attempts to figure out what really happened so long ago in 1938. And also the way, she figures out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

[Roseanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Spoilers** Stop here if you care.

The writing was okay, a few mistakes an editor should have caught were in there as well. Rook was the only likable character. I was looking forward to a decent ending but nope. It ends with a recipe. You never find out about Jocelyn 's fate or anyone else. It 's not difficult to imagine Melanie running back home. Not the worst book ever written but definitely not good either.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. didn't want to put it down.

[Debbie Winn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far so good! Was a freebie from Amazon!