Sunday, February 16, 2020

Review: THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED by Kody Keplinger


5 Stars +!

Extraordinarily good, and I readily devoured it and have set out to look for more by this author.  This is one of my first approaches to this terrifying topic,  one that should never have occurred once, but which seems to have mutated into a frequent "pastime " for certain mentally-disordered individuals and others whose rampant anger overflows and targets not just those who anger but Innocents in the wrong place. 

Among the best aspects of THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED (which I purchased based on reading the sample) is different characters' approach to the Event.  Thankfully neither I nor anyone I've known has ever been in a similar situation,  yet I've often pondered the emotions and mindsets of the "survivors" and of their loved ones. So to watch the character evolutions  undergone in the aftermath is amazing and fascinating. 

I have to caution: one of the strong focuses in this book revolves around religion,  around "who" is qualified and acceptable to be "religious;" and the assumptions and conclusions of some number of secondary characters (of primary characters too) may upset or offend or trigger some readers.
Also,  several of the characters qualify as "Divergent " in terms of Disability/Ethnicity/Orientation/Religion/Afterlife Beliefs-Nonbeliefs.

My only point of dissension with THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED is that the author seems to have a predilection for "telegraphing," which creates temporal cliffhangers at the end of chapters. In real life, unless we are clairvoyants, we don't get "telegraphing" of future events or changes; so I'd prefer to do without it in fiction, for the most part. Let me discover for myself as the story unfolds. 

No comments:

Post a Comment