Five Minutes

by Tabi Card

"Life is never, ever, normal."

Rachel struggles to make ends meet. With an absent mother and a dad who won't keep a job, her life is composed of one worry after another.

Lind lives in a five minute loop of amnesia. Haunted by a mysterious tragedy, he is desperate for his memories . . . but terrified of the hidden past.

As the two teens are drawn to each other, Lind’s fate gives Rachel the strength to push past her own troubled past, and Rachel is the girl Lind is determined to remember.

Genres: Young Adult

178 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2016

About the author

Tabi Card [she/her] adores fictional worlds a little too much, writes a little less than she probably should, and definitely doesn't spend enough time sleeping. She is an aficionado of many things, but her first love will always be fantastical stories with angsty characters. While waiting for her next adventure, she lives in Florida.

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Reviews

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

I love everything I write, but this story resonates with me on so many personal levels. It was a joy to write and I hope it is a joy for you to read.

[Mohamed Ismail · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know it's a good book when you start it and ignore the world till you finish it.
This is one of the books that you can't simply put down till you know how it ends.
Warning: You may be sucked in!!


Five Minutes is a beautifully written novella that tells the story of two teens. They both struggle in life in different ways.
Rachel lives with her father who lost his job and starts spending his time drinking.
Lind gets a fog that creeps and crawls over his memories and thoughts.
They meet and Lind believes that Rachel is the only person he wants to remember.
Together they are able to face their problems sort their lives out.

I am throwing this book at everyone who asks for a recommendation for a lighthearted YA.
PEOPLE! It's worth it.

[Faisal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A genuine love story, almost feels like reality in nature. A well written and a good read for young people. The elements of alcohol abuse, destroyed families and children due to divorces and depression is a common theme in our society. People look for different routes/solutions of the problem they have. In selfishness and concerns with their own needs/happiness they gave up on their children, families, relationships, friendships and sometimes life itself. Thank you for the autograph copy in a giveaway. The author of this book should continue to write more inspiring stories for young people.

[A.C. Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of excellent writing, deeply-felt emotions, and triumph over adversity will adore this story. Rachel is a complex, relatable girl with subtle strength and a quiet sort of humor. Linden is the sort of teenage hero we desperately want to see break free from the prison of his own mind. Together, they made me cry.
I will read this story again and again. Absolutely fantastic.

[Italia8989 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for Five Minutes. Thanks to Tabi Card for giving me this lifetime opportunity to beta-read this novella.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this was a very quick read - I finished in about an hour. It's a good little short story about the different struggles that two teenagers faced and them overcoming them. I think it could have benefited from a deeper dive into the universe, really fleshing out the characters and the story, but overall it was an easy book to pick up and finish.

I received this book as part of the GoodReads Giveaway Contest

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written piece with imagery that gets inside Rachel's head as well as Lind's. Rachel is overworked and tired of scraping up a living to help her Dad pay the bills, when she meets Lind. They have an instant spark. Lind lost his memories, but meeting Rachel turns that all around.

Their interactions are beautifully written and it was a joy to read.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story. Strong characters. Excellent writing... What else would you want? A great short story by my good friend and author!

[Jasmine Honey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also up on my blog jasminecarlisleblog.wordpress.com so you can go there to see the full review and find out how to win a free signed copy of Five Minutes!

Title: Five Minutes

Author: Tabi Card

Published: CreateSpace

Edition: 2016 Paperback

My rating: *****/***** (5/5)



Before I start out with my opinions on everything, I'd like to point out that Five Minutes is a short story that's actually in a much larger collection of short stories titled Scribbles. Tabi is trying to reach a certain number of preorders before she can make a publishing date so you would be the best person on Earth to preorder Scribbles. The ebook is only $10.00 (but if you sign up, you get five credits so you'll only pay $5.00!) OR you can pay a little more for a physical copy but regardless, you should think about buying it.

Not to mention, if you order Scribbles you automatically get a free signed copy of Five Minutes and a chance to win 1 of 4 exclusive art prints. If you order 3 or more copies of Scribbles, you automatically get ALL 4 ART PRINTS which is an amazing deal!

Now, let's get on with the actual review! I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars and it was well deserved. If you don't believe me, Five Minutes has an average rating of 4.67 stars on Goodreads. That's pretty awesome.

In case my review doesn't do her book justice, I'll just give you the synopsis:

Rachel struggles to make ends meet. With an absent mother and a dad who won't keep a job, her life is composed of one worry after another.

Lind lives in a five minute loop of amnesia. Haunted by a mysterious tragedy, he is desperate for his memories . . . but terrified of the hidden past.

As the two teens are drawn to each other, Lind’s fate gives Rachel the strength to push past her own troubled past, and Rachel is the girl Lind is determined to remember.

All of the characters were so great an I felt that I wanted to learn everything there was to learn about them! Sadly, it's a short story but I wish it were longer so I can revel in the beauty of it. :)

Lind was a character that you never really learn much about yet you still love him so much. I felt like Lind and Rachel were destined for each other from the very beginning and everything that happens after that leads up to the final moment. What that is, you'll have to read for yourself!

It's such a peculiar concept but Tabi made it work really well. I didn't feel like anything was really forced and it all flowed smoothly into one another.

Tabi is such a funny person and it definitely showed in her writing. The characters were pretty funny, the plot had some funny elements (even if that wasn't completely the goal, it was.)

It's pretty lighthearted throughout most of the story, though it does have it's sadder elements. Like I said before, it's a short story and I think it's about 165 pages so if you read for the whole time straight (I couldn't and that's why it took me a few days) you could probably finish it in a day.

[Sea Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost this book had incredible pacing and was attention grabbing every single chapter. I love a book that changes perspective and this was done flawlessly. Another thing that put me on the edge of my seat throughout, was watching Lind work through his trauma. Life is a tangle of fate, and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that have been through similar trauma. I personally have not faced what Lind has with the death of a parent, but I have been through some traumatic events that left me forgetting much of myself at that time. It was like covering the mirror to my past self with a bedsheet. Funny enough, I too was helped by someone who cared for me. The longer I knew them, the safer I felt, and the more I remembered and could address. I hope in time, Lind will be able to grow and realize it's not his fault and the guilt will slowly subside. Rachel is healing, too, and I would love to know what she and her mom will say to each other now that she's on her own. Being apart from her parents will help her so much to stabilize, and maybe they can talk about why she truly left, and if it will put the questions in her mind to sleep.

I enjoyed this very much because it started out open, and it ended happy and lightly open at the end. I would pick up a sequel of this. I'd watch a movie of this. I'm glad I have a copy to share with my loved ones.

[Dwayne Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great short story. The author does a fantastic job of vivid imagery. You feel as if you are seeing and feeling everything as if you were right beside the character. The story centers are on two people: a girl that works as a janitor for a hospital, and a boy who suffers from memory loss. He can only remember the last 5 minutes. This is one of many stories of a book called Scribbles. Check it out on Inkshares and place your preorder now!

[Rich Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of two teenagers who are lost in different ways .They discover one another and through this journey find a way out through each other.It's sweet easy way to spend an hour or so.With that I will exit this review "in a cloud of purple ,chocolate scented glitter" ### I won this book through goodreads in exchange for an unbiased review####

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't know

[Trish Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book from the first page. The descriptions and imagery are amazing. It is a tender love story and I couldn't help but read it to the very end. Tabi is an amazing and talented young author that you'll be adding to your list of must reads.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Minutes was a really nice and quick read. There is so much going in this quick read of only 164 pages, and the author, Tabi Card, does a great job telling her story with such wonderful imagery. I won this great book on GoodReads and like I do with most my wins I will be paying it forward by giving my win either to a friend or library to enjoy