From Strardust to Babylon by Amanda Bucan | A Book Review

I also got this book from LibraryThing. This has been on my TBR and it was only about a month ago that I was able to read this. I didn't read the blurb before I started this book so it was a bit of a surprise to find what this book was about. It's a mix of a lot of genres. It started out as a young adult romance and then it turned into a ghost story and then to a new age, religion-christianity and historical biblical story towards the end. I am not sure what to feel about this book. So, allow me to explain it.

I think I picked this book because the title caught my attention. I mean, come on? Isn't it curious to you? From Stardust to Babylon. Babylon alone got me already. It got me curious. I know I read the blurb before but I can't remember what it was when I really started on this book. This is actually a true story. It is up to you if you believe it or not. I haven't exactly decided if I do but there are some parts of the story that could possibly be true and some which I really want to be true because I want that to happen to me or to apply to my life also. 

As I have mentioned earlier, this started out with two teenagers who fell in love with each other deeply. The confusing part is that they are really into each but the relationship was never meant to last. Yes, it is sad. So, they got separated for about nineteen years and then by some telepathic message, Amanda felt that Simon has died. And from there, she started having dreams and experienced paranormal activities that she associated with Simon. With this onslaught of paranormal sightings and all, Amanda tried to understand as much as she can. She meet people who are into new age stuff and about past lives. She tried to gain as much knowledge from this people as she can. She got into a lot of things just so she would be able to unravel the mystery of the messages that Simon is showing her. And it turned out, Amanda and Simon are soulmates and they have reincarnated several times and have always found each other in each life but then, they never really lasted together forever or for long. There were always death, betrayal and all that. The most shocking of all is the connection of Amanda and Simon to the Egyptians Moses and other things in the Bible.

As I have also said, I am not sure if I believed everything in this book. I sort of relegated this to fiction. I believe in the first part of the story where they both fell deeply in love at such a young age but didn't end up with each other due to circumstances which I think would be Simon's fault. I think Amanda, in all fairness, tried to stay in the relationship and keep Simon but Simon continued to not believe in that the two of them should be together. It was a heart-breaking story and I do get why Simon would feel that he has let a great thing slip away. It was hard watching these two not together. And Amanda, realizing that she too felt that she married the wrong guy but she can't seem to do anything about it. 

The part about the paranormal occurrences and sightings attributed to Simon haunting Amanda and her mother is in a way believable, but I guess the part that I found that bothers me a bit was how Amanda was making a lot effort to find meaning and reason for all the haunting which all lead to some discovery about their past lives. I love learning about past lives. I, for one would really want to believe that it's true because I wanted to know about what I was in my past life or lives too. But I guess her obsessive quest for finding the meaning and answers to what purportedly Simon is trying to communicate to her is what really I can't get my head on it. I understand she went through a very profound loss and depression and I understand it may be just be her own way of trying to get to terms and the handle of things. 

Then, she was able to trace back her past lives and connection to Moses and all that. It's fascinating and if I were in her place, I too would be so astounded of this great discovery that somehow she is connected to some great person in the past and is tasked to fulfill a mission. That's a very good way to find meaning and purpose in this life. I would actually want to have something like that. And I salute her for finishing this book and sharing this to the whole world. It is admirable. And in that sense, she has fulfilled her part of her mission and purpose and now it's up to the readers to take that as it is or chuck it to fiction. As of the writing of this review, I still can't decide if I wanted to believe everything or not. Maybe there are just some things that I did not get or understand or maybe some of these things are just too good to be true. But I am not judging, it will just probably take time to process all this. Or maybe, I need not have to decide if I believe it or not, it's just there.

All in all, I give this book a 3/5 Towers of Babylon. This is an incredible story but it also left me thinking and wondering about a lot of things. One of which is if I was convinced to believe it. This story also solicited a lot of emotions. I can't help but feel the devastating break-up between Amanda and Simon. And the sense of loss and regret she and Simon felt when they both are no longer in same plane of existence. The emotions in the story are very real and I could definitely feel them. I guess, the part about the paranormal transitioning into a story that rooted or can be traced back to the times of the Egyptians and Babylonians was what really I could not fully grasped. I believe it's incredible and absolutely amazing to be able to claim that you actually lived in the past as somebody important and had a hand in shaping world history. It's totally wonderful and that part of the story is what I really wanted to be absolutely true and I would like that to apply to me too. I want to actually know what I were my past lives so I could make sense of this current life, just like what the author actually accomplished in this life time.

Absolutely, this was not a light read and this tends to make you question a lot of things and your convictions. That has happened to me and this book, in a way, probably is telling me that there maybe a life after this one. And I hope that it would be much much better than this. 

And lastly, I truly agree and believe in what the author said below. It is definitely the truth. People are just jealous that some are just comfortable with themselves and that somehow bothers them so in turn they wanted to make those people uncomfortable too. To feel the same way that they do, as miserable as themselves.

The irony is that many who are targeted are made to feel weak, yet it's often your very strength of character and individuality that incites the act of bullying as others envy your resistance to conformity.

- Amanda Bucan, From Stardust to Babylon - 

Thank you, LibraryThing, PublishNation UK, and Amanda Bucan for the copy.

Shadows of the Forest by Emma Michaels | A Book Review

Shadows of the Forest I think is a story about the afterlife and the unbreakable bond shared between twins. The story infused some aspects of Japanese mythology and legend.

I think this story jumped right into the middle. It seemed like there was no beginning. It just got right into the thick of things. Not so much preamble as to how exactly the main characters got to where they were. Fortunately, before the book ended it clarified it and stated the events that lead to how they ended up being where they were in the first part of the story. 

The whole time I was reading the story, I had this big unanswered question running through my head as to how they found themselves in such a state. It was disappointing because it made me distracted and less interested to know how the rest of the story developed. Again, I am thankful that by the last chapter, the whole thing came to light and my question was finally answered. But I think it took quite a while and I was still not so comfortable about it. 

The ending was good. If in some way, I was not so into the story, how it ended made up for it. All in all, what I could deduce was that the book was exploring the possibility of the afterlife. Of how it could look and feel like. What I like about the whole experience was the belief that if you don't feel good enough in this lifetime, then maybe, in the next life, you will find what you are looking for and what you are meant to be. To find happiness, purpose and love. To be actually given another chance to live your life with a sense of usefulness and being needed. To finally be the what you wanted to be.

One other aspect that was in the story was the explanation for the northern lights or the aurora. I find it a bit interesting. According to the story, the northern lights were the souls of the departed that rose up into the heavens, each with different colors. I think this is the same thing as what was in the animated movie Brother Bear. The shaman went to the top of the highest peak and ask for help from the spirits to find the right totem for the person who is due to receive his/her totem. And the spirits were represented by the northern lights. If you haven't watched Brother Bear or can't remember the scene I'm talking about, please watch it. I've watched it, maybe a hundred times. My nephew, who is now 13, used to watch this movie. It was his favorite when he was younger.

I think the one great lesson the story wanted to convey was the unconditional love shared between twins or siblings. Cole and Lily wanted to save and sacrifice their own life so the other may live. They were both willing to give up each other's happiness and life just so the other one may survive. Their love for each other is so unconditional and so selfless that it knows no bounds. I guess, this is not just true for twins but for regular siblings also. If you have this tight bond with your sister or brother, I think you would be willing to do anything for them. I for one would do some things a thousand times over for my brother and sister.

I give the book three white foxes. I appreciate the explanation at the last chapter about how the twins ended up in the middle of the road and how the rest of the story ended up in the forest. It was to me the most important part of the whole story which was the key to understanding it in its entirety. If not for it, I would have written off the story as a waste of time because it would have been confusing and whatever the author was trying to tell me was lost. The whole thing would have been pointless.

... live such a fulfilling life that the stars themselves will be jealous of the way she shines.

- Emma Michaels, Shadows of the Forest -  

Thank you again, ebooksforreview.com, for the copy.