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.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Michael wakes early every morning. He often doesn’t need an alarm clock as his internal clock is always set the same. However, upon waking one morning, he looked at his bedside alarm clock and noticed that it read 15:74. It was morning, he knew that for a fact. On the twenty–four-hour clock, 15:00 would be 3 in the afternoon. That was strange in itself, but 74? With only 60 minutes in an hour, 74 just didn’t make sense. By the time he was fully awake, Michael decided to compare the time to his other devices, only to confirm what he suspected, that it was only half past 5 in the morning. Being the logistical scientist that he was, Michael started to take notes as the bedside alarm clock proceeded to count forward. After rushing out to help his new neighbors move in, he returned to find that the clock was doing something even more strange: it was counting backwards.
As a pediatrician, Michael had seen his share of strange things. But the backwards counting clock? He was called to work on his day off to check on a patient. The young girl’s blood work had returned and was showing high amounts of lead poisoning. Deductive thinking once again helped the doctor think through the dilemma of the source of this lead. After enjoying tea with the patient’s teddy, he came to the conclusion and the source. But that didn’t solve his problem with the clock that was continuing to count backwards.
In Michael, Valerie Albermarle has written a fascinating twist on paradoxes and probable impossibilities, based on the distinct theme, if one could turn back the clock, what would they do differently. It is a classic tale based on the 'what if' scenario. Michael, the protagonist, is presented with this interesting paradox and his response, as it unfolds, is an interesting study on character development. The depth and intensity of this story’s plot depends entirely on the protagonist’s own development. Very cleverly done.
