A Dream Within A Dream: The Girl Who Came Back to Life Tour: Review + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Girl Who Came Back to Life: A Fairytale! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book - and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post!

The Girl Who Came Back to Life: A Fairytale

Author: Craig Staufenberg

Genre: Fairytale/Fantasy/Adventure

Release Date: April 16, 2014

Publisher: Createspace

Description:

A book about love and loss, and how to live in a world filled with both...

When you die, your spirit wakes in the north, in the City of the Dead. There, you wander the cold until one of your living loved ones finds you, says "Goodbye," and Sends you to the next world.

After her parents die, 12-year-old Sophie refuses to release their spirits. Instead, she resolves to travel to the City of the Dead to bring her mother and father's spirits back home with her.

Taking the long pilgrimage north with her gruff & distant grandmother-by train, by foot, by boat; over ruined mountains and plains and oceans-Sophie struggles to return what death stole from her. Yet the journey offers her many hard, unexpected lessons-what to hold on to, when to let go, and who she must truly bring back to life.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21969455-the-girl-who-came-back-to-life?ac=1

The Girl Who Came Back to Life is a fascinating new fairytale that is very well-written and has heart. It follows our young heroine, Sophie, whose parents die when she's just twelve-years-old. In the story, it's said that the spirits of the dead go north to the City of the Dead, where they will wander forever until a loved one comes and Sends them to the next world by saying goodbye. Sophie knows she must go to the City of the Dead to see her parents - but she has no intention of saying goodbye. Instead, she plans on finding and bringing them back home - where they belong, with her. After getting permission to travel alongside her distant and aloof grandmother to the City of the Dead (and only if she can pay her own way), they set out on a journey that will take them by train, on foot, and by boat - across several different and beautiful landscapes. During the trip, Sophie ends up learning some really hard life lessons and she must decide if she still wants to bring her parents' spirits back with her or to Send them to the next life.

Most modern-day fairytales don't come across as actual fairytales, in my opinion. They never have the right cadence or narrative that the old fairytales and lore had. This book, however, had exactly the right tone - both in the way it's told and in how it's written. When I read this book, I actually felt as if I was reading and actual fairytale - one written long ago. That cemented it in my mind as a phenomenal new addition to the genre that gives it much needed new life. The story was intriguing and I enjoyed learning about Sophie's life - the good, the bad, and the ugly. She's a strong female lead for a character so young, but we see her grow tremendously throughout the story. The author used imagery and detailed descriptions that allow the reader to plunge into Sophie's world. I loved learning about their beliefs in the City of the Dead and how to send loved ones on to the next world. As in original fairytales, there was a definite moral to this story. There are actually a lot of different life lessons that Sophie learns throughout her journey - some difficult, some inspiring, and all of them perfect parallels to the lessons we must learn in life. She realizes that she's holding on to the memory of her parents when she needs to let them go - and that the person she really needs to bring back to life is herself, by breaking down the walls she's built around herself. Overall, this was a enchanting fairytale - true to it's genre - that readers will no doubt enjoy and learn from. Highly recommended for fans of the genre as well as those who enjoy children's fantasy and folklore.