Friday, August 15, 2014

Blog Tour: CHOICES by Ruchira Khanna


My Review

The novel is about Leonardo, the teenage son of Albert and Amelia. The couple have migrated to the USA from Portugal when Albert loses all his family property. He is the warden of the prison facility that is mainly dedicated to changing the lives of convicts. He takes his job seriously and works very diligently. Amelia is a homemaker who is also part of a knitting club that donates all the scarves created to charity. Leonardo is a brilliant student who is on his way to becoming a computer engineer. The three are a close-knit family, leading a middle class but happy life. When an unexpected turn happens, how does Leonardo deal with it? What choice does he make? That’s what the rest of the novel is about.

The book has a lovely cover and quite apt for the story concept. The story itself is heart-warming as it takes the reader through the journey of self-discovery by Leonardo and how he arrives at the particular choice that he does at the end.

The first few chapters are dedicated to Mateo and his family. Mateo works in the same facility as Albert. I didn’t understand the purpose of developing the story around this character. Leonardo’s story begins in the middle of Chapter Four and I needed to read a few more chapters before I realised the story was about them and not about Mateo. Why would three and a half chapters be dedicated to side characters (Mateo, his wife, his baby, his father, his parents-in-law, more about his mother-in-law’s background) - with great detailing - is beyond me.

The whole story has been written in the present tense, as one would write a play. It’s probably a new trend, but just not my cup of tea. Moreover, present and past tenses (and those in-between) have been mixed up badly. The ‘commas’ and ‘apostrophes’ are totally askew.


It’s a good story that needs a strong hand at editing to make it tighter and more readable.

Choices by Ruchira Khanna


The Blurb
Leonardo is a young man who is standing on a crossroad of life, facing choices. One road leads to a high stress career that brings in big bucks; the other is a chance to make a real difference in lives of others. He has a few questions, questions that all of us have faced when facing choices that can change our lives. Does fate make a man, or do his desires? Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or does providence and life changing events actually show a person the true path to follow? 

‘Choices’ raises these questions, and attempts to answer them. It is a slice-of-life, a book written from the heart.(


Buy @
           
Watch it






Meet the Author


Choices: A Novel talks about how we all come to crossroads in our respective lives, and then the impact it makes by a choice we make.
A biochemist by profession made a mere choice of enrolling myself into a technical writing course. Now, little did I know that this small decision would take me on a path to creative writing and eventually publishing a novel.

This novel, Choices helps answer many questions about man's ambitions and desires and how is it a road towards happiness and contentment that could eventually become your destiny. This is a "slice-of-life" genre thus, impacting all humans who have made a choice sometime or the other in this lifetime!


Stalk her @

      




4 comments:

  1. Thanks Sundari for your time and effort in reading and writing this review.

    I agree I should have invested more time (besides the money) on the editing part. Anyways, being my first novella, I shall take home this precious lesson from ya.
    Sharing it across!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have also read this book and as a debut novella I find it very-heartwarming. The technical issues you note are accurate, but these are skills that can be improved. What is important is that this is an author who writes with heart, and personally, I want to read more stories that are about real people overcoming real issues with love and compassion. I also like the diversity of characters. This is a writer that I will follow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Charli,
      Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and posting a comment. I agree with what you say :)

      Delete