Official Review: Winnie the Beginning by Trudi Tolani

[Melisa Jane]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Winnie the Beginning" by Trudi Tolani.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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To most people, childhood memories are some of the best memories they have ever had in their minds. Personally, I find them the most exciting of all. I still remember different games we used to play, some of my favorite chicken parts, the lessons our parents strived to instill in us, the punishments, etc. Reading Winnie The Beginning by Trudi Tolani rekindled most of these memories. Although the story is set in Jamaica, it’s amazing that the experiences of kids seem to be the same all over the globe.

Winfred Elizabeth Mae Black, or Winnie, is the firstborn of three children: Jackie and Brenda. Although she’s only seven, her mother has made significant efforts in teaching her how to grow up to be a responsible lady. She does most of the household chores. Since her mother didn’t get the opportunity to continue with her education due to some decisions her parents had to make, Mother Winnie was determined to give her daughter the opportunity. She, therefore, strived to make sure her child grew up to be someone she wanted to be before that opportunity was snatched from her by her own mother. Will Winnie live up to her expectations?

This book has 67 pages. Although it’s short, it’s divided into 12 chapters. All these chapters have themes revolving around Winnie and her family. Some themes include family relations, love and betrayal, education, among others. The book is written from the third person’s point of view. The writings are in the past simple tense.

This was a very interesting book with excellent character development. Reading about Winnie, it almost felt like I was watching my childhood experiences. I was so excited to go back in time and enjoy my youthful life once again. I also liked that the author used a very simple vocabulary. This will ensure that even children will be able to read, understand, and enjoy Winnie’s journey and learn from it.

Although this was a delightful book, the author seems to concentrate on developing the characters so much that he forgot about the plot development. For this reason, the storyline is not only flat but also sketchy and hard to follow. There were no twists and turns, no suspense, or anything that can appeal to those who like a plot-driven novel. Although the tone of the book suggests that the author had the young audience in mind, some scenes, such as the romantic encounter of Sam and Winnie’s mother, were way too explicit for the young readers. Since I only found two grammatical errors in this book, a single round of editing should be able to eliminate them.

In conclusion, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I’ve deducted a single star because of the inefficiency in the plot development. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a character-driven book. Anyone seeking an entertaining storyline might get disappointed.

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Winnie the Beginning
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Dayodiola]

How will the theme of a story stand without the plots?

[Erandi Ekanayake]

It's a pity about the negative issues you have highlighted. But I enjoyed your review. Great work!

[Ify_Reviewer]

Appears to be an interesting read but for the plot development.

Nice review

[Diya11]

The story appears to be appealing and life driven. Thanks for the great review.

[Tablito]

Nice how Winnie's mom doesn't want her daughter to miss an education opportunity like she did.

[Aishwarya Chhabra]

It is beautiful book with intricate details of little parts of our lives. Nice one to be read to our younger ones. I didn't find the plot to be much lacking though it is more character based . A rating 3 out of 4 is perfect. The review is a good one.

[BraItu]

The book seems interesting but the errors might keep me away from reading the book

[TCG]

For me, my childhood memories are not my favorite food for thought. Some memories are haunting. Nice job.

[Ada Ling]

"Reading about Winnie, it almost felt like I was watching my childhood experiences." - It is always good to recall the memory of our childhood. Thank you for the introduction!

[Tsholo2030]

It's a wonderful review!
I'm ready to read this book, I also want to recall my childhood memories.