Customer Reviews

As Young As We Feel: A Novel (The Four Lindas)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading just one chapter of this book, I concluded it was either self-published, or belonged to a genre that was unfamiliar to me. Reading the back of the book cover, I discovered it was the latter. The book is listed as "FICTION/Christian/General", or what is known as the "religious fiction" genre, I believe. It's not overly religious nor particularly judgmental. What it is, however, is written in an amateurish manner, which was surprising since the back of the book states Ms. Carlson has written 150 books! "As Young As We Feel" just reads like it was a beginner's attempt at writing a novel. After reading a few more chapters, I strongly felt I was not going to be able to go on reading.

The writing was the type where the author has a lot of messages and observations about life that she wants to get across to her readers. Hence, the characters seemed to basically exist to relay all of those messages and observations. Also, even though there was the interesting storyline that all the girls go back to first grade together, there was little about their childhoods and friendships, because they weren't actually that close. At some point while reading, however, the characters grew on me enough that I wanted to see what happened them; thus, I did finish the book. I am giving it three stars, instead of two, because I imagine it might be considered an interesting novel in the "religious fiction" genre...although I don't know that for sure...and don't intend to find out...the writing is just too simple for me.

In my 6th grade class there were 3 Lindas, not 4, so I am in the same generation as the protagonists. Obviously the premise held a lot of appeal for me. However, the writing let me down. The characters felt like they were composed of plot points and did not seem like real people. According to the back of the book this story is classified as Christian fiction, not a genre I particularly enjoy. However, I really think if I were not informed that this is Christian fiction, I wouldn't recognize it as such. There are a few rather out-of-character references to prayer and church, but other than that it is pretty straightforward fiction.

It is a quick read and held my attention, but I didn't really buy the ending in which (spoiler alert) all 4 Lindas end up back in Clifden. Three of them relocate from big cities because they long for the charm of a small town. Oh, and they have new men in their lives. It's pretty contrived. If I cared more about these characters I would want to know how many of them actually stick around longer than a year or so. I'm sorry to say I was disappointed.

I enjoyed this book very much. It took the action a little while to develop but the basic premise is a great one- four childhood friends brought back together in their fifties renew their friendships and their lives. As a woman who grew up when "Linda" was one of the most common names (we didn't have many names back then) I can easily imagine the scenario of four friends named Linda (my class had four Susans instead.) As a- heaven forbid- middle-aged woman today I can thoroughly relate to the places in which the Lindas find themselves. I'm looking forward to the sequel and certainly hope the Kindle version will come at a reasonable price. In the meantime I'm going to buy the paperback edition of this first book for my best friend Linda!

I gave it four stars instead of five mainly because I think it took the story too long to get interesting. One of the downsides of having four main characters is the time it takes for the reader to become interested in all four, and this book does suffer from that basic and almost inevitable flaw. For the readers who tend to shy away from "Christian Fiction", don't worry, there is very little to scare you off and nowhere is the style preachy.

Almost fifty years ago, four Linda's were placed in the same first grade class. The four forged an instant bond, formed a Linda club, and to avoid confusion decided to go by their middle names.

Now, they are reunited at a class reunion, when sadly, one of their classmates drop dead. The four Linda's spend the weekend together, but all four are now totally different. Janie is a lawyer in New York, trying to decide what to do with her mother's estate. Abby is a lonely housewife in a lovely empty nest. Marley is struggling to find herself after her divorce, and Caroline's mother has dementia.

Can the four Linda's recapture their childhood friendship, and will it last after the reunion?

Melody Carlson is a very prolific author who writes in multiple genres with ease. AS YOUNG AS WE FEEL is the story of four different women, each of them having their own point of view chapters so the reader will be able to identify with at least one of them, and maybe parts of all four.

I found the story a bit slow, and not up to Ms. Carlson's usual standards, but it did read well. The story is character driven, and so the characters do have to be well developed and realistic. In the Afterwords section of the book you will find discussion questions and a preview of the next book in The Four Linda's series, Hometown Ties.

I went into this book with low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised. The book, while definitely not "light" reading nor overly literary, was a fair description of what many women face and are like during their 50s. I enjoyed the characters, but the truth is that any one of them could have been the main character in their own book, and I wish the author had developed them more.

I didn't feel the "inspirational" aspects of the book were off-putting, exactly. More, I felt they were thrown in, so the author could get the book published in the inspirational/Christian fiction genre. This certainly wasn't a central theme in the book, IMO, just part of the whole book and easy to overlook.

My only real complaint about the book is that the ending was trite and way too easy.

Still, I will probably read more books by this author.

I just loved this book and couln't wait to finish it and get to the 2nd book in the series.

As young as we feel will speak to those of us that can identify with the four Linda's that were childhood friends. The book places them at their high school reunion many years later. The four Lindas have not kept up with each other over the years and have had very diverse lives. Coming back together in their small towns makes them re-evaluate their lives and what they want to do with the coming years. It is a little slow and predictable but is easy to read and if you are of a certain age you certainly can identify with the characters.

While this story is a little out of my era and I couldn't really connect with the characters on an intimate level (they are twenty years older than me), I could certainly relate to the idea of having made friends in first grade that I'd lost touch with over the years and then re-connected with (my best friend and I met on the first day of first grade and have been best friends ever since!). I thought the ending was a bit too perfect and I was surprised that this was considered Christian fiction as not much was mentioned about God or religion in general.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and will likely read the next book in the series, Hometown Ties, when it is released in September.

In Clifden, Oregon, the four females named Linda met in the first grade and became friends. They agreed to use their middle names to ease identification in the Four Lindas club. The quartet vowed to remain BFFs, but high school has a way to break up forever clubs.

Almost five decades have passed since the women first formed the Lindas club. Each went their separate ways with Janie becoming a New York attorney; Abby feeling the pangs of her empty nest with the kids gone; Marley as a failed artist lost her élan and free spirit attitude; and Charlotte the starlet whose Hollywood time is over. Each has decisions to make in their middle years, but though they had lost contact until now, they remain BFFs having each other's back.

This is an entertaining character driven tale starring the Four Lindas who in their early fifties face differing crises, but with their BFF namesakes do so with courage and encouragement. Although the plot is thin, fans will relish that with faith and friends in your heart, a person can achieve so much more to overcome what eats at their soul. Melody Carlson provides a wonderful inspirational that will have fans wanting to see how the Four Linda's rock Clifden.

Harriet Klausner

Unlike the characters in this book, I never had the privilege of sharing my name with anyone in my classes. Deborah has been a popular name in the 50's, it seemed to die down by the time I entered this world. Even though the characters are in their 50s, I still enjoyed reading about their experiences. Class reunions are always fun to read about because it's interesting to see how the popular crowd has fared throughout the years or how your crush from high school is no longer hot. What I found unique about this book is that the four Lindas weren't best friends in high school, they had just bonded because they all shared the same name back then. Now they've grown apart and created new identities for themselves.

Caroline's character was the most interesting to me. Her situation with her mother was sad to read and frustrating to read about. It's hard to see someone you love start to slowly break down mentally especially when it's a parent. I was a bit confused as to how her mother survived on her own. It seemed that Caroline didn't visit her all that much before the book started. I don't know how her mother hasn't burned the house down or hurt herself severely living on her own. Abby's story was a bit of a letdown. She seems to be kind of a push over, allowing her husband to do what he wants and doesn't think about what makes her happy. I got really annoyed at the way he would put her down and then accuse her of making his life miserable. Even at the end when they start to resolve their problems, he's still not making 100% of an effort.

As for the other two women, I didn't really feel as if I got to know Marley or Janie. They just seemed to be the two characters that lived far away and then chose to come back to their hometown. There wasn't really much growth in their characters other than discovering that they weren't happy in their present situation. I did find it quite interesting that Marley's son is gay and other than a few mentions of her ex husband being displeased it's just a way of life for them. It was the same with Janie's boss, it's casually mentioned but not a factor. Which I thought was very refreshing for Christian fiction, to NOT be judgmental.

I will admit that even though I normally love Melody's books, this one feel sort of flat. Melody is known for pushing very edgy material in her other books and this one didn't really have it. I think there was just too much dialogue between the characters. There was just a LOT of talking that seemed to be just chatter or small talk. I never really bonded with any of the characters like I normally do. Overall though I enjoyed it. There is a bit more faith talk in this book as opposed to other Carlson books, but for the most part it doesn't feel in your face. Since I do enjoy her books, I will be reading the next book in the series.