Waking Up Joy

Waking Up Joy is so different from all the other stories that I have read. It is a unique story that captivated me from the beginning. A must read!!!

A comedy-drama, “Waking Up Joy” grabs your attention from page one with the main character Joy Talley being rushed to the hospital due to an apparent suicide which readers figure out in the first few pages was actually an accident.

The whole story is anchored by that peculiar accident with Joy going into coma and then waking up. Told in a first person account, we learn about the Joy’s family, friends and the residents of the small town in Oklahoma where they live.

Through Joy, we will learn about the lives of the residents of Saginaw Junction as she also tells her own story. Beautifully written in lyrical prose, author Tina Ann Forkner portrayed our heroine as an adorable and eccentric spinster who is a little crazy even foolish at times.

With its eccentric characters, “Waking Up Joy” would have been a total joy to read (no pun intended). The story development is slow, as if the book was written for another era, as in the 1980s. The first page says that the story happened in 1982, which I thought was a prologue until I realized that it was the time frame of the whole book.

After I figured that out, the reason for the slow pacing of the book became apparent. But understanding did not translate into patience on my part. I found myself speed reading just to know what happened next.

Perhaps, it is my loss because once I was done and knew what happened; I re-read the areas I skimmed through so that I can enjoy the prose. The book was written beautifully after all.

An intriguing read that will whet your curiosity just don’t expect internet speed. The surprise ending is worth the wait!

The book is Rated M for Mature due to adult situations. There are no sex scenes in this book.

This book was not what I expected. I think I was expecting a cosy, easy read with a nice feel good plot and a HEA. Well, from the start this was much funnier than I anticipated. Surprisingly so. But don't let that fool you, either, because this story is neither sweet nor fun, and it's not particularly cosy either. In fact it gets quite dark as it goes along.

Joy's tale is about letting go and growing up, no matter what age you are, of dealing with the past and taking control of the present. It's the story of one woman's awakening, from her own secrets as much as the coma. It wasn't what I expected when I started reading, but I still enjoyed it right to the end.

Joy has had a ridiculous accident and everyone thinks she has tried to commit suicide. Unfortunately, despite the fact she can hear them all discussing her predicament and their theories thereof, Joy is unable to speak up because of the aggravating inconvenience of being in a coma. When she eventually wakes she sets out to live her life fully and put right wrongs from her past.
I loved the first part of the book in particular. It was interesting and compelling reading how Joy was able to hear everything and be witness to the happenings around her, despite the fact that everyone around her believed her to be unconscious. As you would imagine, Joy was able to discover her friends' and family's true feelings and true selves in that time. Haven't most of us, at some point, wondered if someone in a coma can actually hear us? Or wondered what our loved ones would say if they thought we couldn't hear them?
Unfortunately, after Joy awoke, I found myself losing interest a little. My mind would wander and I would have to flick back to re-read some sections. It didn't help that one character I was supposed to like, I didn't! Only at the end did I discover my dislike was unfair and based on facts I hadn't known earlier. I actually felt a little guilty then! The last third of the book picqued my interest again. And towards the end I was holding my breath (read the book to find out why that's ironic!) and biting my nails. The secret hinted at throughout the book was not at all what I had expected! Until about 3/4 through I was convinced I knew the secret! Then I realised I didn't and as the hints were absorbed I started to realise what had happened, yet the truth still had me gripped when it was revealed.

I liked Joy. In fact, I missed her when I finished the book. I enjoyed being in her company. I enjoyed the balance between descriptive writing and conversation. It's a style that I know some people don't particularly like, so be aware there are lots of sections of conversation. For me, though, it was a good thing as I like conversation. My only issue was it was slightly confusingly arranged. but that was hopefully just an issue with the preview kindle version I had. When one person's sentence had finished another's would begin on the same line on the page. But I believe this will have been rectified in the released version.

I enjoyed this book. I think it could have been made shorter. I often remark that stories have been condensed into too short a book, making it feel rushed and unexplored. However, with this I thought it was a little padded and could have benefitted from being pruned in some areas. Having said that, I would still recommend it highly. I really enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate in reading another book by Tina Ann Forkner.

Does your past define you? Do you not live your life fully?

Joy Talley, a single woman in her forties, find herself in a state of a coma after her unhappy fall from the family house roof. No, she was not trying to commit suicide because of her mother's death a few days ago, as the small town of Spavinaw County thinks. She was trying to find a charm, made in her youth (together with her first love Jimmy), to stop loving said Jimmy. After all, he left her to marry another girl, pregnant with him, right? But Joy can't seem to stop looking for his eyes when visiting the church services - and vice versa. But Jimmy is a widower now, for 5 years, and he haven't said anything, so maybe it's high time to move on.
The fall may change something within Joy, or maybe it is just the work of her long-gone Daddy, visiting her in dreams - but Joy starts to breathe fuller.
But there is THE secret about what happened that day...and more secrets to discover, as Joy navigate her downright crazy, sassy Taller family life...after all, Tallers ARE crazy!

Well. This is a novel that one can't describe easily - some parts I loved, some liked, some felt prolonged and some I strongly disliked. But just the fact of having that emotional impact to me means there is something about the novel.

Ms Forkner is very talented writer. She made me laugh and cry with her character, doting for them deeply and dislike them intensively. This is what I look for in my reading!

I like the whole idea of waking up Joy. I like when the heroines are not your usual young beauties, but - like here - the older female loved by her family and friends, with no reasons for being single other the deep scars inside which needs to be tended to.

I loved the Tally family and friends - they feel very real, with all of their good and bad character traits, quirkiness, love and fights. They are not ideal, but they stick together - and their sass alone might fulfill several novels (and I would read all of them).

But, unfortunately - there is missing this certain maturity which comes with the age. Joy is in her forties, but behaving like teenage girl, when it comes to her two love interests. One might say that her youth was stolen and that's why she still is emotionally there, but I just don't buy it. I mean, I like very human feelings of insecurity in my heroines, but this wishy-washy dating is downright juvenile.

I also hate that the dark secrets were not written with stronger emotional impact. I mean, I just don't feel Joy being haunted by the memories of what happened that day, and she very much should be. I think the trauma and guilt was not answered accurately and deeply enough for her to make peace with the past. Oh, what the novel could be and is not!
Even Jimmy got better explanation for his behaviour - and if I dislike some character here, it is Jimmy. Even with all the secrets counted - Jimmy is just a spineless man.

The book also feels quite prolonged, a lot of details should be cut for the impact to be more direct.

All in all - this is quite impactful novel. It made me feel the story. I just wish there was more courage to uncover the problems lying low. I would cry happily then, now I am just thinking about "what if...".