I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A young woman discovers an ability to traverse a spiritual realm right on top of her own and must help a young boy in the spirit realm pass as a human boy while also navigating the troubles in her own life in author Peggy Payne’s “My Life on Earth and Elsewhere”.
The Synopsis
Sensing she’s about to get bad news, Darcy, sixteen, feels herself—or her spirit, to be more exact—rise weightless, out of her body, lifting off the seat of the patio chair. How can this be happening? Her light-bodied airy self hovers high in a backyard tree.
She is not alone! A beautiful teenage boy, shy as a deer, stands in the branches nearby. He sees her and vanishes—as she is pulled back into her body, again tight-packed in her skin.
Her father is talking. Her parents are separating. She’s stunned—the three of them always seemed special, unbreakable. Yet she’s wildly excited by what just happened—though fears she’s lost her family and her mind in the same afternoon.
While her father is in his own religious crisis, she enters an entrancing spirit realm. Must she live a half-life in each of two worlds or must she make an impossible choice? Can the tree boy Risto ever pass as a regular guy? And what becomes of a young spirit being like him? In My Life On Earth and Elsewhere, Darcy has to find a way around barriers present since before the beginning of time.
The Review
This was a powerful and captivating YA Paranormal and Fantasy read. The author does a marvelous job of crafting a narrative that felt relatable and engaging from the start. The vivid imagery the author utilized in the writing of this book helped to capture the mind-blowing metaphysical nature of the story, and the balance of serenity and chaos that the protagonist’s journey brought to each scene made for a compelling narrative.
To me, what made this book stand out was the context of the book itself, as the author focused instead on character growth and personal development over a supernatural evil or struggle to overcome. Instead, this became about our connection to the universe around us, and how in times of crisis or struggle the need to seek answers can come from the most unlikely of places. The themes of the impact divorce has on children, young love, and spirituality came through in full force in this novel, and the captivating bond between Darcy and Risto share both in the spiritual realm and in real life are captivating and emotionally charged moments in the book that make it impossible to put down.
The Verdict
Heartfelt, moving, and emotionally driven, author Peggy Payne’s “My Life on Earth or Elsewhere” is a must-read YA paranormal read. The rich character dynamics and the vivid imagery blend together to make a thoughtful and heartwarming story of two young people seeking their place in the universe. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
Peggy Payne likes to write about difficult people and how they got that way.
Her novels usually venture into the realm of the supernatural, ranging from mainstream religions to the occult.
Her writing inevitably touches upon the intersection of sex and spirituality — to her surprise and no doubt that of everyone who was in high school with her. This pattern didn’t become startlingly clear until she’d published her third novel, Cobalt Blue, and reached the supposedly staid age of 65.
By the time she’d started her first novel, Revelation, she’d spent years as a travel writer, TV and newspaper reporter, magazine nonfiction writer, from Ms. Magazine and More to Travel & Leisure and Cosmopolitan. After writing from more than 25 countries, she had expected to keep rambling about the world for the rest of her days.
But then came the overwhelming need to write fiction, an event much like a spiritual awakening.
Peggy dates her first glimmers of interest in writing fiction to the third grade, when she thought: “I could never be a writer, because everything I write sounds like me (not like real writing.)”
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