Review of Cloudy with a Chance of Answers
Posted: 10 Nov 2022, 18:47
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cloudy with a Chance of Answers" by Carolyn Summer Quinn.]
In September 2019, Bethany Barrows secured a job she liked after she finished college and relocated from New Jersey to New York. However, in February 2020, she had bronchitis, which resulted in constant coughing. While her coughs seem to linger till 2020 and the news of the Covid-19 pandemic spread with its many social and government policies, Bethany lost her job because her employer attributes her unceasing coughing to a symptom of Coronavirus. However, she sees this disappointment as an opportunity to go back to New Jersey, where she'd spent her childhood days back then in 1988, to organize her uncle's house and family house for sale.
First, getting to New Jersey in her uncle's house (the house of Detective Ryan Barrows), she found herself as the only surviving member of Barrow's family, as others had passed away following the search for the true story of how Ashley, her cousin, got missing and later found dead. She is here in her uncle's house in Ocean Point, searching through several documents and photos from the late detective's drawer, trying to find the necessary documents from which information concerning Ashley's killer could be traced.
From here, the whole story begins as Bethany goes back in reminiscence to narrate the historical events which took place in her family from 1987 through to 1988; it includes the account of her family life characterized by a period of unfortunate events that led to Ashley's death, the death of some other intelligent little girls, and the seemingly never-ending investigation on the culprit.
Cloudy with a Chance of Answers by Carolyn Summer Quinn is a fictional account of the Barrows family characterized by tragedies and the quest to find a solution.
This book is narrated in the first-person perspective of Bethany, telling us the unfortunate happenings in her family house, such as the thrilling dramas of the perpetual exchange of verbal attacks between her grandmother and mother.
I'd like to point out the many aspects of this book that I love. First, I love the book's superb descriptive quality. I love how the author describes the thrilling dramas that always ensue between Elizabeth and her mother, as well as that of Bethany and Celeste Sanderson. Second, the book expertly makes use of the first-person perspective to bring out the beauty of the book through the right use of the perspective, which interestingly and meaningfully presents the story. Coupled with a clear tone, the perspective allows for the explanation of many details. Third, I love the plot, as it tells a story based on real-life incidents, an account of the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. And the book correctly shows what it looks like to live in city countries during this period.
Another thing I love about the book is how it finished in a suspenseful way. And yet, its ending is relieving and gives me a sense of hope for the conflict depicted in the story. This tells me that the author plans to produce a sequel, which I will appreciate coming across as well.
Conversely, there is one aspect of the book I'd like to put straight. I can not find a reasonable rationale for Bethany's desire to sell her uncle's house just because he is deceased. The author could have found another incident that should necessitate Bethany to go back to New Jersey rather than going there in preparation to sell the house, which otherwise ought to serve as her heritage in a normal circumstance. Another area I wasn't satisfied with within this book is the role of Ryan Barrows, as he is called a detective, but he fails to express his detective profession when his daughter goes missing. I expect him to make brave actions that the author would still interestingly describe, but he didn't make any lethal action.
The book is professionally edited, as I could only find four major errors in it. For the aforementioned inadequacies, I'll kick out a start and rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. Generally, I'd recommend the book to lovers of narrative stories. Also, if you like to read crime novels, you can find the book interesting.
******
Cloudy with a Chance of Answers
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In September 2019, Bethany Barrows secured a job she liked after she finished college and relocated from New Jersey to New York. However, in February 2020, she had bronchitis, which resulted in constant coughing. While her coughs seem to linger till 2020 and the news of the Covid-19 pandemic spread with its many social and government policies, Bethany lost her job because her employer attributes her unceasing coughing to a symptom of Coronavirus. However, she sees this disappointment as an opportunity to go back to New Jersey, where she'd spent her childhood days back then in 1988, to organize her uncle's house and family house for sale.
First, getting to New Jersey in her uncle's house (the house of Detective Ryan Barrows), she found herself as the only surviving member of Barrow's family, as others had passed away following the search for the true story of how Ashley, her cousin, got missing and later found dead. She is here in her uncle's house in Ocean Point, searching through several documents and photos from the late detective's drawer, trying to find the necessary documents from which information concerning Ashley's killer could be traced.
From here, the whole story begins as Bethany goes back in reminiscence to narrate the historical events which took place in her family from 1987 through to 1988; it includes the account of her family life characterized by a period of unfortunate events that led to Ashley's death, the death of some other intelligent little girls, and the seemingly never-ending investigation on the culprit.
Cloudy with a Chance of Answers by Carolyn Summer Quinn is a fictional account of the Barrows family characterized by tragedies and the quest to find a solution.
This book is narrated in the first-person perspective of Bethany, telling us the unfortunate happenings in her family house, such as the thrilling dramas of the perpetual exchange of verbal attacks between her grandmother and mother.
I'd like to point out the many aspects of this book that I love. First, I love the book's superb descriptive quality. I love how the author describes the thrilling dramas that always ensue between Elizabeth and her mother, as well as that of Bethany and Celeste Sanderson. Second, the book expertly makes use of the first-person perspective to bring out the beauty of the book through the right use of the perspective, which interestingly and meaningfully presents the story. Coupled with a clear tone, the perspective allows for the explanation of many details. Third, I love the plot, as it tells a story based on real-life incidents, an account of the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. And the book correctly shows what it looks like to live in city countries during this period.
Another thing I love about the book is how it finished in a suspenseful way. And yet, its ending is relieving and gives me a sense of hope for the conflict depicted in the story. This tells me that the author plans to produce a sequel, which I will appreciate coming across as well.
Conversely, there is one aspect of the book I'd like to put straight. I can not find a reasonable rationale for Bethany's desire to sell her uncle's house just because he is deceased. The author could have found another incident that should necessitate Bethany to go back to New Jersey rather than going there in preparation to sell the house, which otherwise ought to serve as her heritage in a normal circumstance. Another area I wasn't satisfied with within this book is the role of Ryan Barrows, as he is called a detective, but he fails to express his detective profession when his daughter goes missing. I expect him to make brave actions that the author would still interestingly describe, but he didn't make any lethal action.
The book is professionally edited, as I could only find four major errors in it. For the aforementioned inadequacies, I'll kick out a start and rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. Generally, I'd recommend the book to lovers of narrative stories. Also, if you like to read crime novels, you can find the book interesting.
******
Cloudy with a Chance of Answers
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon