11-22-63 A Novel

11/22/63: A Novel

By Stephen King
Narrated by: Craig Wasson
Published 8 November 2011
My review: 4 out of 5

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?

In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a 35-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away: a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life - like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963 - turning on a dime.

Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession - to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world - of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading, eventually of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful - and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.




This book was a wild ride. Its hard to sum up your feelings when the book is 30+ hours to listen to. I loved the way that this book played out. I thought I knew what was going to happen and it totally didn't. Loved the ending. I think King did an amazing job with a time travel book that wasn't like all the others. The love story wrapped up inside was a nice touch.

Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Series (Part 1)

Book 1: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. 

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

I read this book with a group of girls at my work as the first story for our book club. Out of the whole three who came, two of us liked it enough to start the next books. I was one of those two.I thought this book was really good. Riggs takes the concept of time travel to a new level. The loops had me a bit confused for a while but I finally figured it out.

I loved the main character, Jacob. He has such a strong voice in the story. When he is seeking mental health treatments after a family tragedy, he still believes what he saw. He convinces his parents to allow him to visit the place where his grandfather's stories were born.

I also really enjoyed the pictures. Some of them were so strange and to know they were real pictures that were the base for this story was really neat.

One thing I didn't like was the relationship between Jacob and his parents. The entire book they felt like distant characters. There was no personal connection between them and Jacob. It felt like they were just letting him be. Even on the island, the father let him wander all over, all by himself.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I probably won't read again, but I will read the next in the series because this one ended very abruptly.

September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them - but she's trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine.

But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.

This book picks up right where book one left off (which is a good thing because book one ended very abruptly!) We follow Jacob and the peculiar children along a difficult journey to try and find and rescue Miss Peregrine. Just when you think they have done it, a twist happens that lands them again trying to rescue her. It is really neat how real-life historical events are woven into this story (like the bombings in England during WWII). I also really loved some of the characters they came across during their journey. Thankfully a few of them stick around but I wish a few more had. They would have been a fun addition to the crew. Overall, this second instillation gets a solid four stars from me. 

A boy with extraordinary powers.
An army of deadly monsters.
An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.

The adventure that began with "Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children" and continued in "Hollow City" comes to a thrilling conclusion with "Library of Souls."

As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all.

In this final chapter, we get to see what becomes of Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children. Much of the book takes place in the slum of the slums in Victorian England. I enjoyed watching Jacob really come into himself in this book. The battle gets harder, but the children seem to buckle down and really work to win. Is there even a chance against the fortress and force they are against. I couldn't stop listening to this story. I loved every last word. It wrapped this story line quite nicely. There are still three books left in this "series" so I'm interested to see what the children will be up to next. 

The Paradox Hotel

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake.

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

I think if I would have read this book instead of listening to it, I might have enjoyed it more but I got a little confused. What I did enjoy was the main character January. There were times that her reactions and the way that she handled things just make me laugh or at least smile. Loved the ending of this book though. <3 

Until We Meet Again

Cassandra craves drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own—and that the year is 1925—she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making.
As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love—and Lawrence's life—into jeopardy. Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history…or risk losing Lawrence forever.

I received a copy of this ebook in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: four of five stars

I simply loved this book. First, let me say, the cover is just beautiful! One of my favorites right now. I have never seen or read the time-traveler's wife, but from what I have heard, this is similar. The viewpoints switch back from Cassandra, from this year to Lawrence (who is from 1925). The love story between the two was very well written. When Cassandra really tries to stay away from Lawrence, to keep the timeline correct, you can see how hard it is for her.

This book was one of those I couldn't put down. I wanted to see what was going to happen between Cassandra and Lawrence. Even the end was good for me. I didn't love it, but it ended in a satisfying way that I am content with. Not all books are going to go the way I want them to.

Another thing I just loved was the way the author described events, you actually felt like you were part of it and not just reading a story.

Not sure there was anything about this book. Overall this book get four stars.