An Extraordinary Year


Fiction - General
268 Pages
Reviewed on 06/24/2017
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

In times like ours, when the spirit of consumerism is rank and rife, and when people tend to seek personal profit without caring about what happens to others or to the environment, An Extraordinary Year by Theresa Konwinski comes across as a powerful reminder of the salient values of humanity that we have forgotten, values that can save our world, and the traditions that define our being “human.” This is a book that everyone should read, a story that is filled with insightful lessons about life, suffering, and the importance of selfless love. Meet John Reed, a teenage boy who wakes up with an extraordinary realization — that life is beautiful, no matter how it unfolds. At just ten years old, he makes the decision to let life speak to him, to accept the tribulations it brings, to learn its lessons, and follow its inspirations, each month at a time.

John is a character that readers will love to follow as he explores the joys of life, deepens his connections, and learns to accept the newcomer in his family, and to experience the thrill and the pain of crushing on someone. The story is beautifully told from the perspective of the young boy. Theresa Konwinski’s writing is sweet, filled with emotionally insightful passages. She’s done an amazing job in creating John Reed, a character who will remind readers of the kid they once were and of the child they are called to become. An Extraordinary Year has a simple plot, but it is gripping because it features delightful and trying moments for the protagonist and a prose that is irresistible. I couldn’t stop reading this book and I believe it will change the way most readers look at life, the world, and reality. It’s a thoughtful and inspiring story about love and family, pain and personal growth, and the importance of human connections.