Official Review: Separated by Dreams by Elizabeth Guevara
Posted: 18 Jul 2016, 23:35
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Separated by Dreams" by Elizabeth Guevara.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Cause and effect make for an incredible pendulum. In the case of Elizabeth (Liz) Guevara's Separated by Dreams, the theft of a briefcase sparks a miraculous, life-changing journey for both the thief and the victim. In a novel akin to a Lifetime movie (in a good way!), Liz is able to see how her most prized possession changes Miguel's life in all the best ways. This is a book that's based on real events, and even concludes with the hopes that Miguel reads her book and sees what she's written about him.
Liz (the author) is in Texas for a conference when a coworker invites her to an innocent lunch at the Botanical Gardens. While inside, her briefcase is stolen and she discovers that a thief had broken into the van and stolen it. She's crushed - everything she brought with her was in that briefcase, including her most prized possession, a mysterious irreplaceable item. On her flight back to San Diego she writes a note on a napkin with the date and a message asking God to show her why her briefcase was stolen. She falls asleep soon after and in her dream she sees Miguel (the man that stole it) open her suitcase and get upset there are no valuables.
As the days go on, Liz is able to see more and more of Miguel's life - he's living in absolute filth, addicted to drugs and stealing to pay for his addiction. But once he comes across Liz's most prized possession, a notebook, he's able to stop himself just before an overdose attempt, throw away his drugs, clean up his life, get his first job and do absolutely amazing things.
As Liz watches what happens to Miguel, Miguel passes what he learned on to others as well, leading to a flood of positivity through more and more lives. Watching the outpouring of life improvements and positivity are enough to bring a smile to anyone's face. Miguel becomes a great person, and it was always so easy to root for him.
Although Miguel is a great person in the book, he's not really a great character. In fact, the only flaw I found in the book was that none of the characters felt fully developed. It's easy to feel a part of the book, the emotions are contagious, Miguel goes through a major change and he's not the only one, but that's the extent of depth we're given.
As I mentioned, the book felt very much like a Lifetime movie. Conflict is in very short supply, and things go so smoothly so often that it was more like reading a dream than reading a book. Lifetime movies are still being made for a reason though - they're wonderful when done right, and Separated by Dreams is indeed done right. The kind of positivity in the book is something we all need a lot more of!
As an interesting side-note, the book was actually made into an indie movie called El Camino. There are several listed on IMDB, this one is the 2015 title directed by Sean Daniel Bauer. While it hasn't affected my rating and I can't speak of the film as I haven't watched it, I found it worth mentioning and rather fascinating!
While the less-than-amazing characters would make me rate the book 3.5 if I could, it was just too enjoyable to knock a full point off of. As such, I'm giving Separated by Dreams by Elizabeth Guevara 4 out of 4 stars. As long as you're okay with a book that's mostly devoid of any conflict of any sort and uses a bit of foul language I highly recommend it - it's a miraculous feel-good story for everyone!
******
Separated by Dreams
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4 out of 4 stars
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Cause and effect make for an incredible pendulum. In the case of Elizabeth (Liz) Guevara's Separated by Dreams, the theft of a briefcase sparks a miraculous, life-changing journey for both the thief and the victim. In a novel akin to a Lifetime movie (in a good way!), Liz is able to see how her most prized possession changes Miguel's life in all the best ways. This is a book that's based on real events, and even concludes with the hopes that Miguel reads her book and sees what she's written about him.
Liz (the author) is in Texas for a conference when a coworker invites her to an innocent lunch at the Botanical Gardens. While inside, her briefcase is stolen and she discovers that a thief had broken into the van and stolen it. She's crushed - everything she brought with her was in that briefcase, including her most prized possession, a mysterious irreplaceable item. On her flight back to San Diego she writes a note on a napkin with the date and a message asking God to show her why her briefcase was stolen. She falls asleep soon after and in her dream she sees Miguel (the man that stole it) open her suitcase and get upset there are no valuables.
As the days go on, Liz is able to see more and more of Miguel's life - he's living in absolute filth, addicted to drugs and stealing to pay for his addiction. But once he comes across Liz's most prized possession, a notebook, he's able to stop himself just before an overdose attempt, throw away his drugs, clean up his life, get his first job and do absolutely amazing things.
As Liz watches what happens to Miguel, Miguel passes what he learned on to others as well, leading to a flood of positivity through more and more lives. Watching the outpouring of life improvements and positivity are enough to bring a smile to anyone's face. Miguel becomes a great person, and it was always so easy to root for him.
Although Miguel is a great person in the book, he's not really a great character. In fact, the only flaw I found in the book was that none of the characters felt fully developed. It's easy to feel a part of the book, the emotions are contagious, Miguel goes through a major change and he's not the only one, but that's the extent of depth we're given.
As I mentioned, the book felt very much like a Lifetime movie. Conflict is in very short supply, and things go so smoothly so often that it was more like reading a dream than reading a book. Lifetime movies are still being made for a reason though - they're wonderful when done right, and Separated by Dreams is indeed done right. The kind of positivity in the book is something we all need a lot more of!
As an interesting side-note, the book was actually made into an indie movie called El Camino. There are several listed on IMDB, this one is the 2015 title directed by Sean Daniel Bauer. While it hasn't affected my rating and I can't speak of the film as I haven't watched it, I found it worth mentioning and rather fascinating!
While the less-than-amazing characters would make me rate the book 3.5 if I could, it was just too enjoyable to knock a full point off of. As such, I'm giving Separated by Dreams by Elizabeth Guevara 4 out of 4 stars. As long as you're okay with a book that's mostly devoid of any conflict of any sort and uses a bit of foul language I highly recommend it - it's a miraculous feel-good story for everyone!
******
Separated by Dreams
View: on Bookshelves
Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!