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Keeping Joy
In this stunningly insightful and humours sequel to Finding Joy, Keeping Joy explores the long terms consequences of chronic illness. Through the eyes of Joyce, Aunt Beth and Logan we follow Joyce’s fight to regain her health and her freedom after nearly a decade of being housebound with Lyme disease.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2023
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 5, 2023
A darkly humorous story which explores how to regain a life while living with Lyme Disease
Disclaimer: I received a free advance review copy of this ebook, and here is my honest review.
This novel has some wonderful one liners and phrases, and is filled with the most entertaining dark humour and a raw honesty which makes even the difficult stuff funny at times. I guarantee this book will bring tears of both sadness and laughter.
As with the first book, spelling mistakes, missing words, and awkward sentences make a fair few appearances. With some polishing, this would, easily, be a five-star read. The story telling and character portrayals certainly earn that.
With all of that said, the story premise, plot, pacing, characters, and world building are all done so well you feel as though you are right there next to the many characters from whose point of view the tale is told. The bravery of the main character and her supporters is moving and superbly expressed. Below are some lines that stood out for me …
‘It’s hard to know how far to push Joy, when to leave her alone because she’s not well and when to not leave her alone because she’s feeling low–the two are so closely connected that it’s not easy to tell them apart.’
And …
‘I’m not sure if I fell asleep, or maybe I passed out. Either way, scraping myself up off the floor felt a lot like trying to peel superglue off my skin.’
And …
‘I’ve stopped fighting to reclaim a life that’s unobtainable. There is no back, no pause, there is only now.’
This read moved me so much. In a great irony, 5 years ago when I read Finding Joy, I was disabled but well. Now, I also suffer a chronic illness—not Lyme—but so much of the experiences in this novel resonated with me and I found it all too easy to relate.
I highly recommend Keeping Joy by Morven May MacCallum, which gets a strong four stars from me. On a side note, you will get a lot more from this second book if you read Finding Joy first. Go and check out both books!
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended. 4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book. 3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. 2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines. 1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.
Disclaimer: I received a free advance review copy of this ebook, and here is my honest review.
This novel has some wonderful one liners and phrases, and is filled with the most entertaining dark humour and a raw honesty which makes even the difficult stuff funny at times. I guarantee this book will bring tears of both sadness and laughter.
As with the first book, spelling mistakes, missing words, and awkward sentences make a fair few appearances. With some polishing, this would, easily, be a five-star read. The story telling and character portrayals certainly earn that.
With all of that said, the story premise, plot, pacing, characters, and world building are all done so well you feel as though you are right there next to the many characters from whose point of view the tale is told. The bravery of the main character and her supporters is moving and superbly expressed. Below are some lines that stood out for me …
‘It’s hard to know how far to push Joy, when to leave her alone because she’s not well and when to not leave her alone because she’s feeling low–the two are so closely connected that it’s not easy to tell them apart.’
And …
‘I’m not sure if I fell asleep, or maybe I passed out. Either way, scraping myself up off the floor felt a lot like trying to peel superglue off my skin.’
And …
‘I’ve stopped fighting to reclaim a life that’s unobtainable. There is no back, no pause, there is only now.’
This read moved me so much. In a great irony, 5 years ago when I read Finding Joy, I was disabled but well. Now, I also suffer a chronic illness—not Lyme—but so much of the experiences in this novel resonated with me and I found it all too easy to relate.
I highly recommend Keeping Joy by Morven May MacCallum, which gets a strong four stars from me. On a side note, you will get a lot more from this second book if you read Finding Joy first. Go and check out both books!
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended. 4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book. 3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. 2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines. 1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review