[BOOK REVIEW] The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman

Title:  The Deal of a Lifetime

Author:  Fredrik Backman

Genre: Fantasy / Short Story

Year Published: 2017

Number of Pages: 65 pages

Date Read: 12/9/2017

Publisher: Atria Books   

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Themes of Death and Parental Abandonment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

“The only thing of value on Earth is time. One second will always be a second, there’s no negotiating with that.”

Now, I have been hearing so many good things about Fredrik Backman’s works for a while, especially “A Man Called Ove” and “Bear Town.” Even though I haven’t read either book yet (do not worry, that day will come), I still managed to stumble upon one of his books called “The Deal of a Lifetime” and man, was I totally blown away by this book!

The story starts out with a father telling his son the story about how he met a little girl in the hospital, who has cancer and about how he had actually taken a life away from someone.  Well, that is not the full story: it turns out that the father had a dark past where he abandoned his wife and son for a life of fame and fortune many years ago.  But, when the father ended up in the hospital and he find out that the little girl who was in the hospital because of her cancer, might not live long enough to experience life, the father decides that he must do something to ensure that the little girl survives, even if it means sacrificing his own life!

Wow!  This book is simply amazing for one short novella!  Fredrik Backman has done an excellent job at writing this story as I was seriously hoping that the father in the story would find some way to help out the little girl who has cancer, while trying to appreciate the importance of life and family.  I loved the fact that Fredrik Backman focused on developing the father character in the book as it shows that the father went from thoughtlessly abandoning his family to pursue a life of fame and fortune to trying to sacrifice his own happiness to ensure that the little girl survives and it made me really connect to his character throughout the story. Despite the fact that this novel is extremely short (only sixty-five pages long) Fredrik Backman did a great job at writing out a full story about a father’s journey to becoming a more selfless person and it felt like the story really fleshed out the father’s character.

The only problem I had with this book is that the narrative tends to get a bit confusing at times, especially with the fact that the father is telling the story, but he is also telling the story to his son.  Because of this, the story tends jump from the father’s point of view to the son’s point of view at the drop of a hat and it could confuse some readers about what is really happening in the story.

Overall, “The Deal of a Lifetime” is a truly fantastic story about redemption and learning about the importance of family and happiness that fans of Fredrik Backman’s works will enjoy!

You might also like: 

• Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

• A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

• Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

[BOOK REVIEW] Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Title:  Pippi Longstocking

Author:  Astrid Lindgren

Genre: Children / Manners / Adventure / Humor



Year Published: 1950


Year Read: 1998


Series: Pippi Longstocking #1

Publisher:  Puffin

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

To be honest, I have heard of “Pippi Longstocking” when I was little, but I only saw the movies of the little red haired heroine, but then again I might have read this book when I was younger.  It is just that I do not remember many children’s books that I have read when I was small.  “Pippi Longstocking” is a popular children’s book by Astrid Lindgren and it details the wild adventures of an unusual girl named Pippi Longstocking.  “Pippi Longstocking” is clearly one of the best children’s books ever written that children will enjoy over and over again!

Pippi Longstocking is a little girl who lives in an old house called Villa Villekulla and she lives with her pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson and her horse that she rides everywhere to town with.  Her next door neighbors are two kids named Tommy and Annika and when they first met Pippi, they realized that Pippi is no ordinary girl as she climbs inside trees and is so strong that she can easily lift her horse!  Join in the wild adventures of everyone’s favorite pigtailed girl, Pippi Longstocking!

Wow!  I was just simply blown away by this book!  I was reading this book for The Children's Book Club International Book Club and I must tell you that I really loved this book!  Astrid Lindgren has certainly done a brilliant job at portraying Pippi Longstocking as she is shown as a strong and confident heroine!  What made Pippi Longstocking such an endearing character was the fact that she truly was an extraordinary girl and I loved the fact that Pippi is extremely strong and I also enjoyed the odd activities that Pippi does such as dancing with the robbers and climbing inside trees.  I also loved Pippi’s mischievous yet charming personality as she may seem as a bother to the adults, but I just loved seeing her misunderstand everything that goes on in life on land since she has lived at the seas for most of her life and I loved the fact that she continues doing what she loves best despite what everyone else thinks of her.  I also loved Pippi’s relationship with Tommy and Annika as it is clear that the two kids loved Pippi’s unusual nature and accept her bizarre approaches to life and because of that, Tommy and Annika are possibly the best friends that Pippi ever had!

Probably the only thing that most parents might be worried about in this book is Pippi’s mischievous behavior. Pippi does lie to her friends about her adventures around the world and she does do mischievous activities that get on adults’ nerves and therefore, smaller children might be enticed to copy her behavior.  However, while I agree that some of Pippi’s antics are suggestive, I always thought that because Pippi’s parents were absent, Pippi never had anyone tell her what was right or what was wrong and I think that she does these activities because she does not know that what she is doing is wrong or right and it was this nature of Pippi about the fact that she is so young and does not know the world very well that I found extremely pleasing to read about.

Overall, “Pippi Longstocking” is certainly an instant for children all over the world that love reading about wild and crazy kids!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to the length of this book and due to Pippi’s suggestive behavior.