Have you won any raffle? I have but nothing major like the lotto. How i wish! I have won about three paperbacks through Goodreads giveaways and a lot of E-books from different author giveaways and sites. Anyway, Raffle Ticket is about winners of a raffle draw in the small town of Fielding.
Four winners of the town raffle were offered an additional prize by the strange new raffle draw host. The additional prize, if the winner chooses not to use it, can be given to someone else they know who might need it more. The three winners opted to take the bonus prize. The other one gave it to her best friend. The bonus prize gives each winner a chance to go back to any day in the past they wanted to change. If you were one of the winners, what day would it be?
This book talks about wrongs or regrets and of second chances to change them. I know in real life this does not happen like how it did in the book. But this got me thinking. If I were a winner, would I grab the chance and what day would I choose to go back to and relive and change? I find this very hard to decide on. Yes, I do have things I would have done better but then, if I change anything then there could be some great things that happened to me that I may not have experienced at all. Like the opportunities to travel abroad and to the US through work, the life-long friends I have met who have become closer than siblings, and other adventures I had which have changed my life in more ways than I could count. I admit my current circumstances are not what I really wanted nor what I planned. I wished they were better but I have come to the realization that whatever I have now are all because of my choices. Choices that I have willingly opted to in spite of the after math or effects they will make. Honestly, I have no regrets. I only wished that I could have seen some things coming so I would have been better prepared for them when they hit me emotionally, physically and mentally.
The book may seem like harmless but it had made me rethink my life and the choices I have made. It is introspective. It made me appreciate that at least I still have some degree of choice in my life decisions though some of them may not have been the best at the time but I made them of my own free will. That should at least count for something. I did not expect that this story would make me ball my eyes out. I was just happy and relieved that the characters were able to change the things that have made them miserable and lose sleep each night for the longest time. I am happy when people are happy. I know, it's human nature to also want the happiness that other people have. I also have this idea that if you feel sorry for your self because someone has it better than you, then think again. Would it make you happier if instead of that other person, it was you who were in her place? Maybe. But you never know what that person has to go through to get to that point. If you understand that the person has been maltreated or has been unhappy for the longest time, would you still want to switch shoes with her? We all have different circumstances and one can't have it the same way for each person. This thought at least calms me to not turn green with envy of other people's fortune. I would prefer my love ones to be happy and if possible, I'll take all their suffering if it means a better life for them. Do I sound like a martyr or selfless? I am far from one but I wish and would do anything when it comes to those people I care about. That does not mean that I don't or can't do the things that make me happy. I do and I find ways. I try so hard because I have big dreams and wishes too.
I give this book 4/5 raffle tickets. I just did not foresee that this book packed a powerful effect. It tugged on my heartstrings very tightly and made me look back. What if? This question haunts everyone. But I have learned when to entertain and not dwell on this big million-dollar question mark. If you keep on asking this question and continue to be fixated with the past which you can't change, you will never learn to see the opportunities that the present has to offer. I have learned from past experiences to live in the present. To stop and smell the roses. And it may be too cliche but it makes a lot of sense. Because I have done that, I have learned to live by my choices. But that does not mean that it has been easy. There are really hard days. Days I just want to not wake up, but I realized I have had a good life and have grabbed on the opportunities that came my way. Life happens and I had no reason to feel like the whole world is against me or out to take me down. Though, it does feel exactly like that sometimes.
This is a thought-provoking and enlightening read. It looks unassuming but will hit you smack dub in the gut.
On a lighter note, I think the author is a Game of Thrones fan. I was amused when one of the characters in the book was named Brandon Starks.
You're wondering, I think, if you must still atone for an action if you erase it from occurring in the first place.
- Daniel Kelley, Raffle Ticket -
Release Date: October 11, 2016
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