Official Review: Forgive me I have FAILED

zoedecicco · Post by **zoedecicco** » 13 Dec 2014, 18:04

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Forgive me I have FAILED" by Tashana D. White.]

1 out of 4 stars

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Yes, my dear author, it seems you have indeed failed, though I’m not sure how easy forgiveness will be for those who’ve spent a few bucks on your book.

This work of non-fiction is a ‘motivational’ e-book, aimed at persuading the reader not to be discouraged if they fail to reach their goals. It describes setting realistic targets, and aiming for what we really want, whilst taking less heed of the expectations and unrealistic examples of those around us. The fact that it covers all of this within ten pages of text, is a clue as to its depth.

It all may seem like good advice, and the sentiment is a pleasant one, but it isn’t anything we haven’t heard before. Written in a conversational, and often colloquial, style, it feels more like the advice we’d get from a well-meaning, but rather clueless, friend.

I was struck initially by the awkwardness of the book’s title, and this extends into the bulk of the text. With incorrect punctuation, bad use of grammar, and smatterings of typos, I felt more like I was correcting a student’s essay, than reading a published book.

The front cover shows a graphic that one would expect to see in an office PowerPoint presentation, and yet the writing is casual, slangy and disordered. It is difficult to guess the type of audience that the author intends to reach and inform, and I’m not sure she really knows either.

I find myself wondering about the motivation behind the book. There is no information as to the author’s qualifications or experience, which would perhaps give her words more credibility. There isn’t even an introductory backstory to describe any experiences that gave her the inspiration to write, though one can almost feel the pain of personal experience in her words.

Unfortunately, in terms of this being a motivational text, the book is truly a failure in itself. There is a real lack of rousing language. There is no positive conclusion to make you jump out of your seat. The way it ends, you could be forgiven for thinking some pages might be missing.

To really be motivational, there needs to be a lot more inspiration here: more fireworks, more epiphanies to be had. Perhaps it needs a clearer layout, with some indenting, rather than all the text reading like the average fiction novel. Punchy bullet points, obvious highlighting of key ideas and clear, repeated summarizing would make it much more inspiring.

By the end of the book, I’m not even really sure what the author is trying to say. There is no clear message, and the points made all seem rather jumbled.

I gave this book 1 out of 4 stars, as I really don’t feel there is anything to be gained by reading it, and the number of errors in the text is quite unacceptable. I find it hard to see how this book can really help those who need a good dose of motivational pizazz: it is weak and lacks charisma. There are good intentions here but, regrettably, they just don’t deliver.

***
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