5 out of 5 Stars
Thank you for checking out my stop on this tour with Xpresso Book Tours! Feel free to follow the rest of the your with the schedule at the end of the post!
Synopsis:
“Stewart presents readers with a dynamite coming-of-age story … A tale spins its answer to an age-old question into an inclusive, hilarious, and thought-provoking yarn.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
——
Grandma’s Last Will and Testament names Ray to inherit the trailer park. It’s a million-dollar estate with one hitch: to prove he’s not as aimless as he seems, Ray must discover the meaning of life by the end of the month. (She left the answer in an envelope.) If he fails, the camp goes to his estranged family.
How does anyone find the meaning of life while running a park full of misfit miners, would-be truck racers, and one demanding little girl? There’s a bear too. A grizzly. Maybe that’ll help?
My Thoughts:
Ray is just an ordinary 17 year old. He wants to relax, play his video games (with the DOZENS of people who watch him play), and eat his weight in Kraft Dinner. That is all about to change when his Grandma dies.
“Grandma was rich. She owned Sunny Days RV Park and wasn’t all that pleased about getting old, so she’d arranged for the freezer people to come and freeze her if by chance she kicked it. Grandma always told everyone her Last Will and Testament would be a “doozy .”
“You can take my park, but I’m gonna want it back when I resurrect like Jesus,” she’d say.”
When he’s named in the will to inherit everything if he can discover “the meaning of life” his family is livid, leaving him to run “Sunny Days” RV park all on his own. But, how easy can it be for a 17 year old to realize the meaning of life? How easy is it for ANY of us at any age to figure it out?
“This video’s right. There is no meaning. How can there be? When we die everything is forgotten. There is no purpose. And don’t say ‘going to heaven ’ because I don’t believe in that.”
With words of wisdom from respected people at the park,
“A person’s life is long and the ending of it doesn’t tell the tale. Unfortunately, it is what we most remember.”
“Fear is nothing to be afraid of ,” Salminder replies. “Letting it control you is the problem.”
And a bootcamp with the T.V guru, Dalen Andres, his grandma hired,
“Worry, worry, worry. Most of the stuff we worry about never happens . Worry is a symptom that you live too much in the future. You can’t afford negative thoughts, not a one. Not a single bad one about yourself or about anyone else.”
“I can’t do that— they just pop into my head.”
He sits beside me and takes my hands. It’s weird because I can’t remember the last time a man, a person of any kind, has touched me in so intimate a way. It’s not sexual or anything, it just doesn’t happen to me. I cringe from it, but he holds.
“They don’t pop into your head.” Dalen’s intense eyes hardly blink. “You control them. If there’s anything I can teach you, it’s that. Only you are in control of your thoughts. Thoughts lead to actions, actions to habit, habit to destiny. In fact, my friend, your thoughts are the only thing in your control.”
He’s going to try his hardest (of the hardest a 17 year old can try!) to figure it out.
It’s not going to be easy though. Ray has some seriously insightful concerns that I’m sure have plagued all of us in our lives. In a day where the internet is everywhere, how can we feel like the best when the one in a million is always being flaunted in our faces? What’s the point of trying if we can never be the best?
I’m going to take a wild guess that I can find people out there better at everything than me. Why focus on anything when there’s no way I have a chance at being the best at it?”
This book was so much deeper and more meaningful than I ever expected. I will be honest and say that I requested to be on this tour because I loved that the cover looked like “Monty Python’s Meaning of Life”. This is the 2nd time that I’ve requested to be part of a blog tour for a silly reason and it has been an AMAZING BOOK!! I think this may be my criteria for the future! Ray may not have been the most lovable character, but he was a character that grew up through the course of the book. You couldn’t help but root for him even as he tries to give up. His reasons and feelings are so valid that everyone will surely relate to him (at least I hope it’s not just me!!). He sees things through the eyes of a child, but also as a man, understanding what a lot of adults would miss or take for granted.
“Hi, Mr. Ray.” She smiles big. “Is the iceberg melted?” For a second I look inside to my stomach, but panic-berg’s still there.
“Almost,” I say. “Maybe tomorrow. Did you know an iceberg sank the Titanic? They can be huge and dangerous.”
A tiny furrow appears between her eyebrows. I wondered when those wrinkles start, and here I am seeing this one begin. If all it takes for a kid to be successful is one person to believe in them, then maybe all it takes is one person for a kid to distrust, to start the brow wrinkle.
“My mommy said tomorrow means one more sleep. It’s been . . .” She starts counting on her fingers and runs out. “Yeah, I know. Not everyone’s tomorrow’s the same. But this time it’s one more sleep.”
She smiles again , but I see that the furrow’s still there. And I know where they come from. Broken promises.”
I loved the messages and values that this book teaches. I won’t ruin what those are… you’ll have to find out for yourselves when you read it. I WILL say, that this book will touch all of you. It will make you think, and it will make you question. For all those lost souls out there, it may give you some guidance (while also giving you a laugh!)
GET YOUR COPY NOW AT:
AMAZON US
AMAZON CANADA
AMAZON UK
OR TRY TO WIN YOUR VERY OWN COPY!! (International draw for 20 copies!)
CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
The Author:
Michael F. Stewart embraces all forms of storytelling. In 2009, he created Bully For You for Scholastic Canada, a fully functioning social media platform with an embedded interactive story. He’s written graphic novels for Rubicon Publishing’s Boldprint series, illustrated early readers and novellas for Pearson (coming in 2019!), non fiction texts on Corruption and Children’s Rights; he even tried to convince the world that we needed a location based storytelling app with augmented reality (NARR8R)-we still do! He’s written adult horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy, and adventure. He’s even written books you’ll never find. But nothing is ever wasted. His most recent book, Counting Wolves, a contemporary YA, was named to Kirkus Reviews “Best Books of 2017” list. The Boy Who Swallows Flies (2018) won Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award, and the Assured Destruction Series won The Creation of Stories: Best YA Award at the Toronto International Book Fair. In 2016, Michael was selected to join the CFC/Entertainment One TV Adaptation Lab. Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s Writer in Residence and runs free writing workshops. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit him at:
His Website
Goodreads
Ray Vs The Meaning of Life is Best Served with
A Honey Bear Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1oz Bourbon
- 1oz Citrus-Sage Syrup (recipe below)
- 2oz Apple Cider
- Orange slices and sage leaves, for garnish
- Ice cubes
Directions for Citrus Sage Syrup
On high heat, combine the water, honey, sugar, 8 sage leaves, and 2 orange slices in a medium skillet.
Allow to boil and then simmer for 2 -3 minutes (or until the honey and sugar have dissolved).
Strain mixture into a mason jar and allow to cool to room temperature
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Directions for Honey Bear
-
Fill glasses with ice, a shot of your favorite bourbon, and then evenly pour the simple syrup you just made equally into 4 glasses.
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Top the glasses off with more sage leaves, an orange slice, and a splash of apple cider.
- CHEERS!!
To follow the rest of the tour, or look back on what others have already had to say:
April 30th
–Rising Indies United
–LenniLand
–Lauren is Reading
May 1st
–Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
–fundinmental
–Crandom
May 2nd
–The BookWorm Drinketh
–Dilyana’s World
–Buried Under Books
May 3rd
–Quite The Novel Idea
–F A N N A
–Andy Winder
–Rockin’ Book Reviews
May 4th
–Port Jericho
–Cranky TBC
–Books Direct
May 5th
–The Avid Reader
Oki…I didn’t start reading yet but 5 out of 5 scared the shit out of me 😂😅
I’m on it, reading now 🧐
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Ha ha!! I KNOW! It doesn’t happen very often, so take it seriously!! 😂😂💖
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Yep 👋😂
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I need the honey bear, separated only lol
And gosh where’s my rich grandma? 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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I love the drink… Girl it is 40 deg Celsius outside, hot hot hot. And your drink looks so cool with a wedge of lime. And the alcohol puts me to sleep, the better it is
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Ha ha! It is definitely delicious. It’s 20 degrees here and I love it as it was snowing last week!! 😂☃️☃️
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Girl you are sooooo lucky. It is hot and humid here. Exhaustion has become my middle name… Oh wait is it dehydration
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Maybe you have 2 middle names? Or maybe they can be combined… Exhaustration??
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Sounds like some kind of frustration hehehe 😂😂
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But ISN’T it frustrating?? So, that works too!! Frustexhaustration!!! Soon, it will be the longest, most powerful word known to human kind!! Move over Supercalifrajalistocexpialidocious (have NO IDEA if I spelt ANY of that right!!… Ok. I know I got “super”) but, it doesn’t matter! Because it will be NO MORE!!
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Supercaliflagilisticexpialidocious
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Lol! Sounds good.
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Ooh! This is going right to the top of my tbr Nicole!😊
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I honestly think you’ll love it!! I don’t give out 5 stars lightly and this really got me out of my crummy outlook on life (… Ok. Maybe it just distracted me for a little while), and it really made me think! 😍💖🍻
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Great post ❤
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Thank you. It was a great book! One of those books I feel like everyone could relate to!
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Sounds like a great book. i wonder what the meaning of life is too. and the excerpt is teasing enough to make me wonder if that’s the answer – ‘there’s no meaning’. but then again, i don’t think you’d post it here… would you?
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I guess you’ll have to read it to find out!! Maybe I’m such a lost soul that having it confirmed that there’s no meaning has me giving it 5 stars! Ha ha!
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I will always relate to a character that wants to eat their weight in kraft meals. Sign me up for some mac and cheese!
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I KNOW!! WHO DOESN’T LOVE MAC & CHEESE!! *drool*
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Great review! I guess reading books for silly reasons can pay off haha – I decide based on the cover alone most of the time if I can be honest lol! Sounds like a really well written read overall!
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Nothing wrong with judging a book by its cover! …That IS how that sayung goes, right? 😉Ha ha ha! 🍻
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That sounds pretty cool…. and well the drink… yum.
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The book was so thought provoking… Which is interesting to say about something that was so humorous! And the drink was delicious!!
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Well, humour can be used to carry very important messages. And then the reader ends up with the option to laugh and move on or stop and think a bit more, if they want.
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Precisely! It definitely got me both laughing AND thinking!
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Perfect then 😉
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I am stopping reading your posts and going straight to the drink! 😦 Thats another one on the TBR. I am even reading 2 books simultaneously to try and catch up. It doesn’t work of course but I feel like it does.
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Sounds like the author created a magnificent character in Ray and really explored some nice ideas throughout the book. So glad to see how much you loved this one. Great review. 🙂
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I really did love this book!!! Gotta love a book that makes you laugh AND makes you think! 💖💖💖
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whoa! that sounded just so darned funny i jumped on NetGalley to see if it was available–yeah–for request. too late for the raffle tho. darn. great review and your drinks are looking five star as well, lady.
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I hope you enjoy it! If you read it, let me know what you think! 💖
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A very interesting premise to the book.
A 17-year-old trying to figure out the meaning of life.
I’m surprised it was not classified as being part of the science-fiction genre. 🤣
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I agree!! Ha ha! Completely unrealistic! 😂🍻
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