Book Review: The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes

Title: The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes
Author: Anna McPartlin
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
Reviewer: Julia

I can't believe how amazingly wonderful this book is. I can't believe that I put off reading it for so long. (I've had the book sitting with my other TBR books for at least a year now.) This book is beautiful and so well written, and it snagged at my heart, bringing a few tears to my eyes.

The novel is about Rabbit Hayes, mother of Juliet; sister to Grace and Davey; daughter of Molly and Jack; friend of Majorie, Francie, and Jay; love of Johnny; and overall just a great person whose life is cut short by cancer. Even though it is obvious that the book will come to the inevitable ending of her death, it is still lovely all the same. Her family is so nice, witty, and close, and their love for each other was very sweet. (Although I am not sure how many families are actually so close, it was nice to read about them.)

I know that this book isn't what a lot of teens seem to like these days: romance and/or some action-packed plot. But I think that it's better than that; more than that. Besides, it is an adult book, not a teen book.

This book is about a family which was brought together through death. (Reminds me of a part of Rumble in some ways.) In a way, instead of getting sadder as Rabbit's health declines, the book gets happier. Rabbit, along with her whole family, continue to fight, and the tones of hopefulness, love, and family got me crying and smiling throughout the book.

Overall, there is a theme of family and love. There are powerful and strong bonds between some of the characters that I found to be beautiful. Some of my favorite relationships would have to be the ones between Rabbit and her daughter Juliet and Juliet and Davey. All of the characters are also great individuals with their own personalities. I think it would be hard not to fall in love with the Hayes family.

So, yes: this book is not like those other books. But I think it is still wonderful all the same. Afterall, it was an international bestseller.

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If this book sounds interesting to you, you may like The Light Between Oceans.

"The Light Between Oceans is a wonderful story. Using third person point of view, author M. L. Stedman weaves together marvelous characters and beautiful descriptions to create a masterpiece of a novel. Perhaps it doesn't sound like this due to the summary of the book. Most places you might go to will describe the book as a story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who, after failed attempts at giving birth to a child, find a baby wash up on the shore of the island, and that their decision to keep the baby will forever affect them. While this description is true, I do not believe that it shows the full value of the book.

This book is so much more than that. It is the story of..." Read more