Enjoyed

I did enjoyed listening to Michelle Babb, always makes the listening experience a joy . She brings the characters to life.

You find yourself hoping and cheering for Gracie. The story is has Grace developing strength from a very controlling mother .
A great story and listen to.

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Wow!!! Incredible Listen

Saving Gracie by Terry Lee was not what I was expecting. The storyline had a control freak mother and Gracie. I loved how Gracie developed a backbone in this listen. She evolved so much in this listen. Michelle Babb was fantastic at bringing the characters to life (especially the dead ones). I really enjoyed this listen.

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Strange story

This is a very strange story with the interaction between Gracie and her domineering control freak of a mother both before and after her mothers death. Gracies mother returns from the other side following her passing from cancer and still wants to control Gracie. The book has quite a good ending and Michelle Babb does a great job of the narration as usual. I don't think I would want to listen to another book like this but did enjoy the experience this one gave me of a genre I'm not too sure of.
This book was kindly given to me by the narrator and I leave this voluntary review.

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She can’t let go, even in heaven

This was an unusual story that takes place in this world and the next. It is a feel good story like It’s a wonderful life.

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So Adorable...I can't find a fault with this audio book.

The story follows a young woman, Gracie, who has a lot on her shoulders, life is tough. Now, throw a control freak of a mother into the mix and you get quite a huge burden of stress.

This is what Gracie has been dealing with for all her life, it has resulted in low self-esteem and great vulnerability. But this she only discovers when she is faced with the death of her mother: Kathryn (Queenland as she becomes known in the 'next world'. And this is where the story really starts: with Gracie taking control of her own life. But of course, a control freak of a mother cannot resist the temptation to remain in control of Gracie's life, even if her being dead is quite the hindrance. So Queenland pursues Mission: Saving Gracie. Surprisingly, there are few disasters but there definitely are valuable moments of self discovery.

I have weirdly become quite fascinated with books which explore the 'beyond death' culture. It's always so interesting to read (or listen, in this case) about a writer's thoughts on the subject. In this book, Terry Lee describes a pleasant environment with friendly (but sometimes annoying) dead people. I must say of all the dead people, Ruby had to be my favourite. Michelle Babb, the narrator of the audiobook version, executed the character so humorously. I think this character was enough to make this book so adorable.

In equal measure, I liked Gracie's journey to finally be able to stand on her own two feet, to adapt the 'mother' role for her children, to step out of her comfort zone and help another helpless person. As well as, her strength in coping with a distant husband. It was appreciated to find that my feelings regarding her husband were so very wrong. Be warned though, there are some teary moments- obviously with the passing of her mother's death but other moments when we realise how Kathryn became so controlling.

The narrator, Michelle Babb, was wonderful with this book. The characters were performed excellently, and she certainly nailed the Ruby character. I have to say that this was one of the books where I can only recommend the audio book version, it is far more enjoyable. And with the flitting of character perspectives, between mother and daughter, it is definitely more helpful in making sense of what is going on.

I received the audio book for review.

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1 person found this helpful

Tugs at the heart strings

I nearly stopped listening because I so don't need to hear about someone dying and crying so soon after starting the book wasn't a good start (I should point out I cry at Disney film's). Glad I didn't because once it got over the initial few chapters it became more interesting and I enjoyed it. It was a very different book to what I normally listen to but I found I wanted to keep listening to see what happens to the characters. The story is told by two characters the daughter who is learning to live without her mother and find her purpose in life now that she isn't under her thumb and by the mother who is a ghost and wants to come back to save her daughter. Both sides turned out to be fascinating as each character faced there own challenges and changed because of it.
Grace has always had her mother on speed dial or telling her how things should be done but her world comes crashing down around her the diagnosis of the c word. Rather than make the most of the time they have left Grace hides from the world and when the end finally comes she isn't ready to copy with it. Grace 's husband and two children, including a deaf daughter try to help her through it but when the husband has to leave the country for business, Grace has to find a way to move on. She does this by helping out at a summer camp for deaf children, where she befriends a little girl who needs more help than she does. By doing this she changes her life for ever. Kathryn knows how much her daughter needs her and will use every trick in the book to be able to get back to her. But the after life has rules and with all of them broken, will the high council let her return to earth to help her daughter? Is Gracie the real one that needs saving?
I really like Michele Babb as the narrator, she has a way of making the characters come to life, even the dead ones

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