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    Strange but True: A Novel
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    Strange but True: A Novel
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    Strange but True: A Novel
    Ebook476 pages7 hours

    Strange but True: A Novel

    By John Searles

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Now a Major Motion Picture starring Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, and Blythe Danner.

    “Sinister and complex.... You’ll race right through it.”—New York Times

    After a mysterious fall from his New York City apartment, Philip Chase has moved back home with his mother, Charlene, a bitter woman who has never fully accepted the death of her younger son, Ronnie, five years earlier. Surrounded by memories of the family he no longer has, and trying to forget the reasons he left New York, Philip is in stasis.

    But everything changes late one windy February night when Ronnie's high school girlfriend shows up on their doorstep. A sad young woman who still bears the scars of the accident that took Ronnie's life, Melissa is nine months pregnant. The father, she claims, is Ronnie.

    Now Philip and his mother must confront not only Melissa's past but also their own: the secrets each has buried and the lies each has told. But not everyone wants the past exposed…. At once a moving story of redemption and a heart-stopping work of suspense, Strange but True “will hold you transfixed” (Salon.com).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateDec 6, 2011
    ISBN9780062191076
    Author

    John Searles

    John Searles is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author. His books are published in over a dozen languages and have been voted “Best of the Year” or top picks by Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Salon and the American Library Association. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, NPR’s Fresh Air and other shows to discuss his books. 

    Read more from John Searles

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    Reviews for Strange but True

    4/5

    12 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This was a tough read for me. I think it was because the plot seems to be bouncing around all over the place.
    • 4/5
      Brief Description: Philip Chase has moved back home with his mother Charlene after suffering a fall from his New York apartment. Charlene, who never really recovered from the death of her youngest son Ronnie five years earlier, has turned into a bitter overeater—filled with anger at Ronnie’s death and her divorce from her husband Richard (who is now remarried). When Ronnie’s old girlfriend, Melissa Moody, shows up unexpectedly and tells Philip and Charlene that she is pregnant and she thinks Ronnie is the father, it sets into motion a series of events that take us into the past and into a rather strange and unexpected present.My Thoughts: I didn’t really expect much from this book (which I picked up for the Take A Chance challenge) and was pleasantly surprised to find it to be an engrossing and affecting read that surprised me midway with a major U-turn that was unexpected but thrilling. I know the plot might sound a bit weird/paranormalish, but the book is fully grounded in reality and deals more with lost souls and desperate, lonely people than with the paranormal. As I got to know Philip, Charlene and Melissa, I wanted all of them to find the happy ending that they deserved. I was surprised how much I got involved in their stories, and Searles does a wonderful job of developing these characters so that they feel real and lived-in. And, as I mentioned, the book takes a rather strange turn in the middle, which I found both shocking but oddly pleasing in its weirdness. If you’re looking for a different read that will both surprise you and affect you emotionally, try this book. It was an unexpected delight.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was very strange, just like the title. The main characters were extremely unlikable for the most part, but that is what made this book work. It was suspenseful and very interesting. I recommend it!