Customer Reviews

A Different Kind of Blues

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Petra Fields was feeling blessed. She just received a huge job promotion and she was on top of the world. That was until she received some tragic news that could change her life forever. Her doctor informed her that it was time for her to get her affairs in order because her time was very short. With all this information, her head was spinning out of control. She didn't know how she was going to tell her mother and her daughter that she was dying. She knew she didn't have much time, but there was something she wanted to do.

Petra knew she had to face all of the people she had done wrong. She had to tell her teenage daughter Krista that the man she knew as her father was not dead. She also had some wrongs that she had to make right. Far from being set free from all of her turmoil, Petra finds love. She still has a few hurdles she has to overcome, but she has to seize the moment and move on with the rest of her life.

Gwynne Forster has done it again. A Different Kind of Blues is a book that lets you know you can defeat any obstacle in your way. I thoroughly enjoyed how Ms. Forster brought you into the book. You felt bad for Petra when she was told about her illness. You also felt angry with her when her teenage daughter was told the truth about her dad. Ms. Forster does an excellent job with bringing the characters together instead of overpowering one another. At some point in the book, you can understand what each character is going through. If even if that isn't the case, you at least know someone similar to the characters in the book. A Different Kind of Blues is definitely a solid read.

Reviewed by Jackie
for Urban Reviews

This book had potential but as she has done with several of her Mainstream novels, the author lost me....too drawn out and boring!! I absolutely had to struggle to complete this story.Maybe I am missing something, because with all of the 5 star reviews I have read on Ms.Forster's bodies of work- Most reviewers seem to believe she is prolific writer.
While Ms.Forster seems to have a knack for tackling relevant and timely issues that could be thought provoking and life changing to her readers, she falls short in weaving the tale. The characters are not well developed, the storylines are slow and drawn out to no end, and the conflict/resolutions do not seem realistic at all. Often the charaters become caracaturs and they are over the top, or barely able to make the hurdle.Not all bad...but not a page turnr either.
I pushed my way through this read as well. It was gut wrenching and I had to put the book down many many times.

Petra Fields was cruising through life - being a single mom, working a regular 8 to 5, and relaxing with her girlfriends several times a week. After an annual physical exam, she realizes that life is too short. Not knowing what to do, Petra shares her news with Reverend Collins wanting sympathy and direction. However, she was not thrilled with his advice - to "get yourself straightened out" and face the demons from her past head-on.

Petra's life begins to unravel as she buries the skeletons from her closet. First she told her 17-year old daughter, Krista, that her father was alive and living across town. Second, she told her neighbor, Ethel, about a short-lived affair with her husband. Third, she exposed the truth to a co-worker about her role in getting her lover fired. Overwhelmed by need to confess her sins and the unwillingness of others to forgive she decides to embark on a cross country tour to face her darkest fears. Will traveling the road less traveled free her from the past?

Forster delivers a poignant story of forgiveness and love. The secrets provide just enough intrigue to keep you interested in how the story plays out. The experiences of Petra's travels provide the right amount of sensuous romance to keep the reader begging for more. A Different Kind of Blues is inspirational while the romance creates a Lifetime movie moment.

Deltareviewer

How would your life change and what would your focus be, if you were given six months to live? Would depression, anger or apathy prevail? And how would this news affect those around you? This is Petra Fields' dilemma. In a mere twenty-four hours, Petra rejoices over a promotion and raise, and is then diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She only shares this news with her pastor, who advises her to clean her slate; contact the people with whom she needs to make amends. This will require a strength Petra is not aware she has, and create more havoc than she could have ever imagined.

She and her daughter, Krista, have had a beautiful relationship for the last 18 years, but her situation will force her to retract a lie, which will affect their relationship and upend another family. Still, she shares her apologetic secrets with everyone, then takes a leave of absence from her job and travels to places she only dreamed about; trying to live the rest of her life in six months. Petra encounters people from all walks of life, experiences something that happens once in a lifetime, and has an epiphany. But she still has to come home. Initially, I could not feel Petra's desperation but, I realized at this point, Petra did not feel her own desperation. Her actions were sporadic and she took risks that were completely out of character, or maybe because of the prognosis, took risks that unveiled her true character. This theory made this a more embraceable read and allowed me to grasp a fuller understanding of Petra's emotional state.

Forster brings conflict to her characters and challenges them to grow. A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLUES is a strong story about secrets and forgiveness. It reaches your core and averts attention to emotional breakthrough and the essence of life --evolution, change and the empowering will to live. This is a different read.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers