Candice
Really wanted to like this. The premise was great - how we respond and react to fear. However what I read was what I can only assume is a miserable woman's life story with just a sprinkling of actual science. The author is scared, nervous, anxious about everything it seems. Must be a miserable way to live. When she actually gets into the science it's fine but the “I worried about this” and that oh no, lost her mom when she was a grown woman and acts like it was the end of the world, I knew not to expect too much. I think in the old days she would have been referred to as having a weak disposition. She needs some better friends who tell her to suck it up buttercup and not let her continually wallow in a fear of everything all the time.
Premise was good. Editing was awful. Full of spelling and grammar errors (your vs you're, ugh). Half way through I was trying to decide if it was possible for a book to jump the shark - a killer robot thing? Really? It wasn't necessary. It's like that was added to the plot to full pages. The general idea of the book was great but someone should have done a better job as an editor and copy editor.
I received an advance reader version of this book and am so thankful that I did. The book is broken down into 7 steps to move in to finding your divine direction. Each step gives an introductory story and dives in to making small actions to move forward in that vein. Each chapter has a challenge to think about and actually write down things or action items. There's a great mix of classic Craig Groeschel humor and scripture. It breaks everything down in to manageable pieces so that you feel encouraged and capable of making those first steps toward becoming the best you.
Ugh. The only ground breaking thing Robin does in the book is regurgitate every adage, tale of woe and learning, and motivational poster ever made and cram it into a poorly written fable. If I didn't have to read this for work, there's no way I would have finished it. The text is cheesy, has no flow, and doesn't give any life altering or truly inspiring words. Just the same things in a 200 page analogy that could have been easily condensed in to 20 pages.
I'll save you the time - take pride in what you do and do your best. Never stop learning and care for those around you. Ta da. I'll take my best seller status now.
This book was ok. Not great but not bad. The constant jumping between first person memoir of two characters and then to third person narrative of the same two people seemed unnecessary. I understand wanting to give a glimpse in to the psyche of each character but the constant back and forth took away from the story for me. Additionally some of the story, especially in the later half seemed rushed and not well developed.
From a technical aspect the book is great. However, for the side of me that wants a novel to entertain, this was not it. Many chapters had the same enjoyment as the chapter from the Grapes of Wrath about the ants crawling on the turtle. They seemingly added little to the story. Other times the story seemed to drift away from Alan Turning and more to the technology as a whole. Yes, I understand that the reader needs to know what was going on, but the meat of the story sometimes didn't seem to focus on its subject. Overall,I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit long at times.
For those who likened this to Gone Girl. Well done. I had to force myself to finish Gone Girl and can say the same for The Girl on the Train. The ending of Gone Girl was at least a twist, this was more of an “oh, ok. Is the book over now?”.
All I could think while reading this book was: 1) I know people who would act this neurotic and behavior like this is the reason they're not a part of my life. 2) This is why guys think women are insane. And before anyone asks if I even finished the book yes. Yes, I finished the book. And the end (ending of the book) does not justify the means (chapter after chapter of whiny, crazy, drunk and annoying).
If you loved Gone Girl; go for it. For me, this book was only good for wasting time in an airport with no other option available to read.
I may have missed something with this book, but I don't see how it was some amazing love story. It was the story of the desperate guy, like if it were modern times, you would have gotten a restraining order against him.
