Erratum

by Walter Sorrells

When Jessica Sternhagen walks into a bookstore and finds a volume entitled Her Lif waiting for her, she thinks it's a joke. Who left the book for her? And shouldn't the title be Her Life? This printer's error turns out to be the first in a series of bizarre happenings. As Jessica reads, she realizes life is about to radically change. This stunning thriller by master storyteller Walter Sorrells raises as many questions as it answers about the power of books, the importance of free thought, and the potential our decisions have to change—and even save—the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, Science Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Also writes under the pseudonyms of Lynn Abercrombie and Ruth Birmingham. Sorrells has now stopped writing and earns a living as a knife maker. He has a Youtube channel about it.

Reviews

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was entertaining, I felt that it lacked something. I really liked the idea of the main character discovering a book in a bookstore she'd never seen before titled "Her Lif" which actually described, in excruciatingly mundane detail, her life up until that point. When she flips to the end of the book, she is horrified to discover that she is murdered by the bookstore owner while reading the book. Of course, she takes steps to prevent such a thing from happening. And, once free of the bookstore and its murderous employees with strange flickering shadows in their eyes, she discovers an erratum sheet. An erratum sheet is a printer's correction and it says that she goes on to save the universe. Well, that's all well and good, but how?

She and her best friend have to struggle to keep hold of the book and prevent the evil vacuum salesman (who is out to destroy their universe, but only because he thinks he can control it)from getting his hands on it. Only Jessica, with book in hand, can prevent the destruction of that universe.

I liked the way that the book played with some ideas in physics and the idea of multiple timelines existing simultaneously. The book got somewhat muddled at times, but the ending was both sad and satisfying.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica is exploring an old bookstore that has, literally, sprung up in her Minnesota town, when she is handed a book titled "Her Lif" with her name on it. Curious, she begins to read and is amazed to discover that she is reading about her own life--which is disappointingly mundane until she flips to the last page and reads that she is to be murdered while reading the book. Jessica Sternhagen finds the ending unacceptable and runs for her lif(e) through the dusty stacks of the bookshop. Of course she escapes (with the book) and discovers an erratum sheet "correcting" the old ending stuck between its pages. Clearly her life has taken a turn from the mundane.
Of course there's an explaination--and Jessica is about to find out that things aren't always as they seem (thanks to 29 dimensions in the universe!)and her role in life is about to shift from "normal kid" to protector of the universe.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Erratum is an odd sort of novel and defies ready definition. I’m not even certain who its intended readership is. It mentions unfamiliar scientific theories, notions that would baffle ordinary adults. Grown-ups would find it decidedly odd when a character mentions “tertiary phase chronoplastic singularity”. What are children to make of such a phrase?

The characters do their best to clarify events but the explanations make for disjointed exposition. Certain characters appear and abruptly disappear, never to be seen again. Others try for real illumination, such as the cryptic blond woman Miss Star. She’s blind—at least she sports a cane and dark glasses—but she’s able to drive a car. She’s going to tell Jessica about the truth of her life but then vanishes without a trace before she can do so.

The ending is enigmatic in the extreme and I can’t tell what it is without a major spoiler. But what does it spoil? It refers to a character who appeared earlier in the story and was then killed. He’s apparently alive but seems to serve no real role in the plot. This wackiness is compounded by the continual reiteration of the Battle of Bluntwick. The latter is a bubble of confusion that is a King Charles’ head idée fixe. What does it even mean? Who knows? Who cares?

Often the story devolves into Jessica and her friend Dale getting into frustrating conversations with adults (with the children frequently blurting out how something they've just been told is impossible) before running for their lives. Weak plot points enlivened with silly chase scenes? It sounds like a badly made movie done by a deranged film student who’s had too little sleep and far too much coffee.

The story is also hampered by the main antagonist of the tale. Bob Robbins Jr. is a shallow and ridiculous kind of adversary. He frankly tells Jessica that he’s the villain of her story. But people don’t think of themselves that way. No one really considers himself to be a rotten person. So Bob’s statement makes no sense. He claims he wants to take over the world but we never learn why. Is it for wealth? Power? Fame? Glory? Excellent health insurance?

Jessica does manage to save to world…but the how of it eludes description. In the end, her extraordinary adventures, her sacrifice and the life she once lived fade from memory—hers and everyone else’s. Thus the book robs her and us of any real sense of victory, closure or completion.

As the blurb in the back states, this book raises more questions than answers (not that the answers make any real sense). It’s more of a philosophical tract, one that seems to question the nature of reality, space, time and the very fabric of the universe. Rather heady stuff for a children’s book.

If you’re looking for linear storytelling, gripping characters and satisfactory happy-ever-after endings, you might want to look elsewhere.

[Roselyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book originally when I was about 9 and it completely hooked me. I didn't quite understand the book fully at the time and though I did think about it after I eventually forgot about it until I randomly remember it a few weeks ago. I wasn't a hundred percent sure I wanted to re-read the book as if I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first time I would ruin my memory of the book. But I read it and I am definitely glad I did.

When I first read it, I was fascinated and a more than a little creeped out. Well, the truth is, I still am - possibly even more so because I actually understand it now.

This book takes the multiple universe theory, the dark matter theory and mixes them together with a book that can control the universe simply though the power of words. So basically every action has huge repercussions - even the ability to change lives.

Many philosophical questions are raised in the book such as what if your life isn't real? and what would happen if you could change the path of your life? I liked how no real answers were provided, leaving it up to you, the reader, to think about it for yourself.

Erratum also posed questions about the bond of friendship and proved that true friends put each other before themselves even though it is easy to be selfish when things go in your favour.

The subject of good vs. evil was addressed and the book showed that no one is truly good or evil - at least in our universe that is - and that our perceptions are not usually reality when it comes to judging people's character.

This book had many funny scenes as well as many ones that were a little... should I say, gross? It had excellent pacing and interesting characters as well as an incredible title.

That brings us to the ending. Umm, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending (not the epilogue) as it kinda just summed things up and didn't leave room for imagining the rest. I would have preferred it to have ended where everything seems fine but then the last sentence reads that something was wrong. That would have been soooo much better.

I enjoyed the epilogue - it left some room for imagination and was an 'omygosh but I thought...' moment.

Children's books can be good, and are sometimes even better than a young adult book would be on the same subject as they focus more on the plot than character's romance.

Erratum is a quick read that takes your mind off other things by giving you a lot to think about.

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12415011

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for middle school readers, but as an adult I still found it a highly entertaining read. Jessica Sternhagen embarks on a rollercoaster ride of curious events that may alter her current timeline. She finds a book called "Her Lif" which details all of the events in her life leading up to the current moment. The kicker is, she can change the outcome of the events, which leads to an erratum note, detailing the error in printing or writing. I felt myself turning page after page, hungry to know what series of oddities would come up next. Walter Sorrells keeps you guessing as to what will happen next throughout the entire book as the overall mystery unfolds. It normally takes me awhile to read a book and I read this one in 3 days. I just couldn't put it down. If you're a fan of mystery, intrigue, suspense, and adventure, this book is for you. If you just want to have a fun read, this book is for you.

[Groomer Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out fairly interesting but the closer to the end you get the worse the story gets. Ended really badly...like it wasn't thought through. Felt roughly done and rushed. I got to the last 25 pages and had to force myself to finish it. Too bad because it seemed promising during the first half.

[Rena · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept was good but execution felt clumsy and rushed.

[Emily Michie ☆]

Yet another book I read in elementary but forgot the title. Reddit came to the rescue!

[Laz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book- one of my favorites of all time

[awcelerysticks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, and I blew through it in 1 day. The writing kept me engaged, and also a little confused, which worked well with the concepts of the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly strange story with lots of physics and philosophy in it. It seems a bit sophisticated for a children's book. It was a fast read but not a book I would want to read again or really promote. Just okay.

[Wynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the few books that have ever caused me to reflect upon my own life and my character. The book still puzzles and haunts me. I may fear it.

[Julie Graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erratum=an error in writing or printing.

Jessica has always felt like she doesn’t belong. Her family feel the same way about her, but they accept her because they love her. Dale is her best friend because he too is a misfit. He lives in a very poor part of town. He has 8 brothers and sisters and his parents have been beaten down by life. His father lost his hand at the sausage making plant in town and has been sitting in front of the TV doing nothing but drinking for years. His mom is bitter and old-looking. Dale doesn’t spend much time at home. He has dreams of what he would love for his family to be like. His father throwing the football out in the yard with him, and his mother baking cookies in the kitchen and caring for the family. Dreams that seem almost like reality.

When Jessica stops into an old bookstore that she has never seen before things are about to change. She finds a book in the store that has her name on it. The title is “Her Lif”. As she starts to read she realizes that the book is the story of her life. When she reads that the owner of the store is about to kill her she barely manages to escape before it actually happens. From there things start getting weird. Her and Dale go to the local library where they manage to lose the book. While trying to find it they meet different people along the way and find that there are alternate universes and that it is up to Jessica to save this universe. The question is what reality is the “real” one?

Things start changing as a black hole opens up and starts deleting the town. It is imperative that Jessica find the book and set things right before the universe they know is obsolete. Dale is helping her until he finds his perfect family. Then he doesn’t want things to change. It is just like he always dreamed. His father smiling and playing with him in the yard. His mother making fresh cookies in the kitchen and caring for her family. He starts to forget what his “old” life was and fits right in with his new. In the meantime Jessica finds that her family is not the same either. What she finds she does not like.

Once Jessica finds the book she has a decision to make. Will she keep what she knows is not real with a chance that the universe could be gone in an hour or a thousand years, or will she choose the reality that she does not like in order to preserve the universe the way that it should be?

I liked this story, but had a hard time following some of the science stuff in it. It was humorous and pretty fast-paced.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now my mind feels sorry for not believing what my heart told me ages ago.

[Chris Cutler · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many good things about this book that I really struggled choosing a rating, but for overall feel I'm going to have to go with 3 stars.

The theme and thought-provoking part of the book gets 4 stars for sure.
The jumble and confusion of the plot was actually a well-executed technique, because it puts you in the same position as the heroes, who were having a very jumbled sort of day. On reflection, the book has impressive cohesion.

This is another story where books have power and libraries guard mankind from destruction, but the way it is envisioned here is very different than in any of the others I have read yet--and not because of the string-theory connection. In this universe books are important because they hold our memories, which in turn define us and the world we live in.

Another very good thing about this book is the way it handled character sacrifices. In many books a character will be willing to give something up or die, and then through miraculous events everything comes back and it's suddenly it all works out wonderfully. In Erratum, when someone gives something up or dies, the sacrifice is real. In a few instances the event is "un-happened," but this doesn't feel like an author betraying his characters for the sake of a happy ending.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked a lot about this book, especially the idea that one decision or event can change people's lives so completely. That's actually a pretty scary thought.

The struggle the two main characters have with feeling like their lives are "wrong" missing something, and then the challenge of choosing between the life they'd had and the one that they could have, or should have, makes for some thought provoking passages. So was the contrast between their families.

Even the bad guys are interesting: Bob Robbins Jr., the ultimate salesman/politician, not very bright but smooth. And he can control 'people who don't have a very strong sense of themselves. People who are always thinking how they'll appear to other people, always comparing themselves, always afraid they aren't enough like other people? They're the ones they can take over. People like you are too strong."(p117)

The idea of the library as the protector of memory and therefore identity, the past AND therefore the future, was pretty cool.

The plotting was sometimes confusing (but it was for the characters, too), and I don't get how a book can be in a pond for hours and then be readable immediately after.

For kids who like meta-fiction: Inkheart, The Great Good Thing, etc

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, well, it was an interesting read, what with all the alternate realities and parallel universes and 29 dimensions and Jessica's lonely fate as the guardian of the true universe, even though I had a good idea of how it was all going to go down for poor Jessica.

I also can only hope that this is the first of a series, because it had one heck of an open ending, not too mention The Battle of Bluntwick, so often referenced and never explained, leading me to think that it was a future event not yet occurred. Also, Miss Star? Jessica, obviously, from the future. Cerebrus = awesome. How does she get the dog?

Dale, the only other real player, could have benefited from some deeper characterization, as could all of our mystery characters that he and Jess run into, from Elwig and Margarine to the Director, etc. But Jess' characterization is solid and, as before, I hope there are more books forthcoming about her and Dale and, hopefully, Cerebrus.

There is a conversation between Jess and Dale about something more real than real, behind the veil and all that, but I lost my marker and will have to put it in when I reread it.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erratum :A list of corrected errors appended to a book or published in a subsequent issue of a journal.
When Jessica Sternhagen finds a book titled Her Lif, the errors in her life begin. It seems that whenever Jessica makes a different decision, the book changes and everyone she meets wants her book! She discovers that her destiny is to save the universe; those who want to steal her book want to destroy it.
Jessica and her friend Dale work together to save her book and the universe with various adventures on the way. Suitable for upper elementary children, this book is adventurous without being too scary. The ending is a surprise and, I think, will make readers think about Jessica's decision.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can a librarian not help but enjoy this book! A fantasy about a normal young girl and her male pal, a fantastic library in an out-of-the-way Minnesota town, and a cast of characters who can be villains or friends? The structure of the book is well done -- alternating chapters to keep the suspense and action going. How wonderful to read a book without just a stereotypical librarian! In this fantasy, the library director, those in binding, the blind librarian in charge of the section for the blind, the dweeb in circulation, and the "lingual engineer" keep the question of destiny up for grabs.

I truly hope there is a sequel in the works!

[Ruth Paszkiewicz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premise, however most of its ideas have been done better elsewhere. I found the narrative voice too informal for a third person narrator. Some elements of the plot were over explained (badly), and other parts were not explained at all. Both of these elements are annoying and stopped me engaging properly with the characters. As well as having the least threatening villain I have ever encountered, the main characters were only mildly interesting, and had a very annoying habit of dropping or losing things - all the time.

If you feel tempted to read this book, I would direct you to 'The Neverending Story', 'Inkheart' or the Discworld series instead.

[Aranrúth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something different about Jessica Sternhagen. For one thing she has a Destiny. One day she walks into an antiquarian bookstore that had never been there before, and is given a book called Her Lif, that she apparently has already paid for. The book details her entire life, but when she reads the last page and avoids what is written, the book changes. It turns out she needs this book to save the universe from being utterly destroyed, but to do so she must remember what is the true reality and make a choice to save the universe.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

String theory in a children's book? Yes. And well done. 11 yr old Jessica has no idea that her destiny is to save the world until she begins to read 'Her Lif.' Her world now seems full of errata, or errors, and she has to puzzle through them. A very hard decision awaits her in the end.

[Emily S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book got off to such a great start, I thought for sure it was going to be a favorite. The first chapter sets up immediate conflict and interest. And then I fell instantly for the quirky characters. However, about mid way through the novel the plot begins to fall apart. By the end I was thoroughly confused and several questions were left unanswered. Even if this becomes a series, it just had too many holes. And it was dissappointing to see Dale lose his fun smart alecky personality.

[jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this book a long time ago and I've been driving myself crazy trying to remember/find the title/book for a week! I even had a dream that I found the book again last night, and in my dream I remembered the first few letters of the title were erra or erro and that the girl was Jessica and I finally found the title again! :) I am so happy!
The book is pretty good, but kind of confusing.

[Dexter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is basically a love letter to the english language, books, and storytelling. It's a super surreal ride that makes you question every detail and every choice Jessica and Dale make. And who even are half the characters? Was that building always there? Will it still be there if Jessica goes scuba diving?

This is the kind of book I wish I could memorize, so I could just spout quotes out at random times.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the idea behind this book was really good. A girl starts reading a book, only to find it is the story of her life and is constantly changing based on her choices. Kind of a parallel universe thing. But I think it would have been better with fewer complex plot twists and weird extra characters. It just seemed to end, without unravelling all the side stories and mythological references. Maybe you could take out a lot of the extra stuff and turn it into a blockbuster movie! :)

[Addison Children's Services · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! If you liked Facttracker, you'd like Erratum. Jessica accidently, on someone's purpose, discovers a book about her life. Then she loses it after finding out that the book is key to everything. As things in her life are altered, the errata list in the book increases. As worlds collide, things rapidly spiral out of control. Jessica and the book are the key to restoring the true order of the universe. Check it out.

[Leslie Barberie Blount · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has an interesting premise, but all the science made it a little hard to follow. Things keep changing around Jessica, and people try to explain why, but she, along with the reader, might get confused when dark matter and sting theory are involved. For this story, I would have liked a little less science and more information about the characters. Overall, I liked this book while reading it, but at the end I was left scratching my head.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun look at books and the power that they can have in our lives. It reminded me A LOT of The Phantom Tollbooth. Lots of crazy characters who have meaning but you don't really know what that meaning is until later in the book. Good characters. Not much depth to the story, but still fun.