Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus! A book review

 

                               Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus
                                           Joyce Magnin
                                      Zondervan Publishing
                                      ISBN: 978-0-310-33355-5
                                      April 2012/320 pages

I was contacted to do a book review and I agreed. Isn’t that the way most reviewers do it? I was not sure if I was going to like the book based on the title and when I received the book I was still a little skeptical. This is certainly a case of “You do not judge a book by its cover”.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus is a novel by Joyce Magnin. It is a Christian/Fiction book. Basically, the author takes us on a cross country journey, from Pennsylvania to California, when Harriet Beamer loses a simple bet. Harriet fell off a chair at Christmas and thought she sprained her ankle. Her son and daughter-in-law knew she broke her ankle and that is how the bet came to be. If Harriet broke her ankle, she would have to pack up her life in Pennsylvania and move to California to live with her son and daughter-in-law. I am sure you can guess what happened. Harriet decided to set off to California her own way, however. She decided to send Humphrey, her dog, to California on the plane and she decided to get to California taking local transportation the whole way. She is an avid salt and pepper shaker collector and she wanted to collect those along the way also. Her family, of course, did not agree but Harriet did it anyway. What a journey she had. Meeting a Cherokee Indian, stopping a purse thief, having a newspaper story done on her journey, becoming a YouTube sensation, and getting kidnapped were just parts of her journey. The whole way, God was leading her and pointing her in her adventure.

Harriet and her salt and pepper collection :)

MY REVIEW:

I LOVED IT! Do I need to say more. I felt I was on this journey with Harriet, and felt her joys and her fears. At one point, I asked myself, could I under take an adventure like this? Packing up her whole life and moving to a new part of the country is a huge undertaking. I just chuckled throughout this whole book. I think my favorite part, is how Harriet jumped in a motorcycle sidecar with Snake and his wife, Pearl. Try to picture a 72 year old lady is a small sidecar with her tote bag and rolling suitcase.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joyce Magnin is the author of five novels, including the popular and quirky Bright’s Pond series and the middle grade novel “Carrying Mason.” She is a writing instructor and frequent conference speaker. Joyce lives in Pennsylvania with her son, Adam, and their crazy cat, Mango, who likes to eat nachos.

 

WHERE CAN YOU FIND THIS BOOK?

This book goes on sale on April 24, 2012. List price is $14.99. Check out Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com or your favorite book retailer.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan and Shelton Interactive as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”