3 June 2016

Review #451: The Turning Point by Freya North



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“I know we loved each other, but distance can do strange things to people and before I was willing to tell you about it, I wanted to be certain that it would last”


----Nicholas Sparks



Freya North, an English bestselling author, has penned a heartbreaking tale about love in her book, The Turning Point that narrates the evocative yet challenging love story between two lost souls who meet each other purely by their fate and from their begins their struggling yet romantic journey towards their salvation, while taking care of the responsibilities of their own lives.




Synopsis:

Over one short weekend, when Canadian musician Scott Emerson and British children's author Frankie Shaw meet by chance, a profound connection is made. Their homes are thousands of miles apart: Frankie and her children live by the coast of North Norfolk while Scott’s roots lie deep in the mountains of British Columbia. Against all advice, they decide to see where this might go.

Over oceans and time zones, they make sacrifices and take risks, discovering along the way new truths about love and family. For the first time in a long while, it seems life could be very good. But fate has a tragic twist in store, one that could destroy all that was hoped for.

Poignant, engrossing and moving, The Turning Point is a novel about the importance of seizing happiness and trusting that love will always find a way.



Frankie Shaw, a popular English children story book author, who pens her stories about an imaginary little girl named Alice and her adventures. Frankie is also a single divorced mother of two pre-teen children and lives in a rural town of Norfolk and her life is not that bed of roses type, instead it is demeaning and stressful with two kids and their wishes and dreams, beside her own job where "author's block" is a common symptom.

Scott Emerson, a British Columbian musician, who pens music for movies, is also a single divorced father of an adult epileptic daughter named, Jenna, whose demands and illness keep him rooted towards her daughter and the responsibilities of his own job where "creative block" is a common symptom.

Both these characters, Frankie and Scott, come face to face in London for an event and sparks fly instantly and from that moment, their chanced encounter turns into something passionate and promising before they head towards their way back home, Scott to Canada and Frankie to Norfolk. But can they keep this promising and burning passion between them alive devoid of thousand of miles of distances between the two souls and most importantly with so much responsibilities at their own homes?

This isn't any kind of mushy romantic drama with cheesy love scenes, instead the love here depicted is something old, matured and thoughtful. Since here the love happens between two grown up mid-aged characters, who already had their chances at love, and after so many years devoid of any warmth from the opposite sex, Scoot and Frankie are thrown on the road to tenderness and weakness towards another soul. Hence they pledge to make it work, instead of finding the easy way out to let it go and sleep on it.This pledge of theirs bring them face-to-face with so many defying battles on their way starting with their kids' lives to their equally demanding jobs. This is the kind of the love which will not only make the readers feel for it, but will also sense this love and yearn for this kind of love to happen in their lives and if happened, then it will make them nostalgic about it.

The author's writing style is brilliant and it is laced with deep heart-felt emotions that will move even the coldest of cold hearts of the readers. The narrative is painted with sentiments and it is thought-provoking hence the readers will stick to this story till the very end. The pacing of the book is moderate, as the author unravels so many layers and depth in her story line yet it keep the readers' minds arrested to the very core.

The author not only explores the relationship between two souls filled with real-life challenges and problems but also projects the voice as well as the portrait of a human being suffering from epilepsy and the sudden seizures faced the victim. The author has captured Jenna's illness vividly and aptly that is highly believable for those who are suffering or have suffered from it.

The backgrounds of both the countries where both of them contrast each other with their striking landscapes and the cultural differences are brightly and boldly arrested by the author into the canvas of her story, where the readers are bound to feel like visualizing both these locations with their containing and evocative past as well as the current topography through their own eyes.

The characters here are well portrayed through their realistic demeanor and their impulsive and thoughtful actions and decisions. In the beginning of the story, Frankie will strike the readers as a careless mother who worries only about her book and the imaginary character, Alice. But later after meeting Scott, she starts evolving into a considerate human being. Scott too wants to escape from all those troubles with her darling daughter Jenna but after meeting Frankie, he too learns a lesson or two about the importance of parenthood and the opportunities of life.
The author has given a refreshing, honest and innocent voice to Frankie's kids who will charms the hearts of the readers thereby making them fall for their cuteness. The rest of the supporting cast is also very well-developed.

In a nutshell, this story has almost everything that a reader is looking for in a book that will provide them with a fulfilling as well as with an enlightening experience about life. Th story is highly compelling, addictive as well as poignant till the very end.

Verdict: A must-read story for all those who are looking for something meaningful and evocative through fiction.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Freya North and her publishers for giving me this opportunity to read and review the book.
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Author Info:
Freya North is the author of many bestselling novels which have been translated into numerous languages. She was born in London but lives in rural Hertfordshire, where she writes from a stable in her back garden. A passionate reader since childhood, Freya was originally inspired by Mary Wesley, Rose Tremain and Barbara Trapido: fiction with strong and original characters.
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