Five Days Left
Destined to be a book club favorite, a heart-wrenching debut about two people who must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for love.
Mara Nichols, a successful lawyer, and devoted wife and adoptive mother, has recently been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Scott Coffman, a middle school teacher, has been fostering an eight-year-old boy while the boy’s mother serves a jail sentence. Scott and Mara both have five days left until they must say good-bye to the ones they love the most. Through their stories, Julie Lawson Timmer explores the individual limits of human endurance, the power of relationships, and that sometimes loving someone means holding on, and sometimes it means letting go.
My review.............4 stars
Let me preface this review by suggesting that you have some tissues handy at all times. I cried (the first time) at 75 pages in! Do not let that influence you in thinking this is some sappy novel. The subject matter surrounding the two main characters is just the sort of thing that makes me weepy. Ask my family and you will know that this is not hard to do, I can be seen blubbering over the Hallmark commercials on tv 🙂
The story involves two people who are very indirectly related through a web site chat room. I absolutely loved the character of Mara, and had the book been just her story, I would have easily given it five stars. The story of Scott, while still good, left me feeling a bit ho-hum. I thought it was too predictable, and something that I've read before. I would give his part of the story three stars, hence my overall 4 star rating.
You must read this for Mara's story! Try out the Scott parts, and if you like them, by all means read the entire book. If you are left feeling that you are reading his parts to get back to Mara, just read the Mara parts. It is not the kind of book where you need to read both characters or you will be left confused at the end. I'm still thinking about Mara several days after finishing the story........always the sign of a great read!! Don't miss this one!
