RAY VS THE MEANING OF LIFE
Grandma's last will and testament names Ray to inherit the trailer park. It's a million-dollar estate with one hitch: To prove he's not as aimless as he seems, Ray must discover the meaning of life by the end of the month. (She left the answer in an envelope.) If he fails, the camp goes to his estranged family.
How does anyone find the meaning of life while running a park full of misfit miners, would-be truck racers, and one demanding little girl? There's a bear, too. A grizzly. Maybe that'll help?
Michael F. Stewart embraces all forms of storytelling. In 2009, he created Bully For You for Scholastic, a fully functioning social media platform with an embedded interactive story. He’s written graphic novels for Rubicon Publishing’s Boldprint series, illustrated early readers and novellas for Pearson (coming in 2019!), non fiction texts on Corruption and Children’s Rights; he even tried to convince the world that we needed a location based storytelling app with augmented reality (NARR8R)—we still do!He’s written adult horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy, and adventure. He’s even written books you’ll never find.
But nothing is ever wasted. His most recent book, Counting Wolves, a contemporary YA, was named to Kirkus Reviews “Best Books of 2017” list. The Boy Who Swallows Flies (2018) won Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award, and the Assured Destruction Series won The Creation of Stories: Best YA Award at the Toronto International Book Fair. In 2016, Michael was selected to join the CFC/Entertainment One TV Adaptation Lab. Stay tuned for more soon.
Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library's Writer in Residence and runs free writing workshops.
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I love telling a good story! I enjoy using different voices to really bring the characters to life. It's a lot trickier than I originally thought it would be. That's why besides spending thousands of hours recording books to improve I've also taken training with some of the best narrators in the business such as Patrick Fraley and Scott Brick. I take telling your story seriously (with a serious dose of fun, of course) and try to do whatever is necessary to make sure people want to hear the story you have to tell. So, let's tell it together! Website
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HALL
WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. When this title appeared on my
radar, I hesitated to jump on board for a review. I wasn’t sure about the title
or the Monty Python-ish cover. Yet, there was something… I thought the premise
of Ray Vs the Meaning of Life sounded
good, and I was craving a YA book, so I dove in and never came up for air until
the book was done. The story, the characters, and the storytelling are all
FABULOUS, and the narration is perfection; I am totally fangirling over
this book. This is what a YA book should be – authentic, humorous, and alive
with people and places and ideas that stick to the ribs and make the reader
want to do better.
“The
only thing I know is that caring for
a trailer park is not the meaning of
life.”
From the opening scene (cue
Monty Python again: “I’m not dead yet!”), readers will be laughing at the dark humor
of Grandma’s demise. This pivotal event, well…series of events, are what set
the stage for the rest of the book as Ray and his family deal with Grandma’s
final Will and Testament and required hoop-jumping – namely, Ray must identify
the meaning of life to get his substantial inheritance. Granny was no dummy and knew Ray would need
some help, and so she spent a sizable chunk of money hiring life-coach guru,
Dalen Anders.
“If
I see farther than others, it’s only because I stand on the shoulders of those
wiser than myself. No teacher relies on what they figure out themselves. Wisdom
is wisdom. Second-hand wisdom is like second-hand gold. It holds whatever value
is ascribed by its holder.”
Dalen Anders! His lines are
some of the cheesiest and most fabulous in the book. Dalen is one of my
favorite characters, and it is refreshing that Dalen, as well as other adults
in the story, are integral to Ray’s life and his growth. They are all
marvelously flawed but realistic characters that enrich the story where so many
other YA books omit, downplay the importance of, or represent adults as idiots.
“I
wear a clean pair of jean shorts with paint spatter and an
unstained but
moderately malodorous tee-shirt with
a Dalek on the front. Under it are the
words You are irrelevant.”
Author Michael F. Stewart has
the gift for painting perfect snapshots of life and people in his rich, colorful,
and humor-infused descriptions. Stewart is an outstanding storyteller, and at
its core, Ray Vs the Meaning of Life is
a beautiful story because what happens in Ray’s life is the human experience
for all of us. Ray’s quest to find the meaning of life has an impact on
everyone else’s lives, and so Grandma’s final directive ends-up helping
everyone else figure out what’s important in life, too. What makes the book
even more perfect is that once Ray’s eyes are opened to what it means to put
others first and give of self, he STILL doesn’t put two and two together. Even
though I was disappointed with the big reveal of Grandma’s definition of the
meaning of life, it really is the perfect, most realistic ending there could be, and the
epilogue left me grinning.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: Kevin
Clay NAILS IT. From voicing Grandma (Think Vicki Lawrence’s as Mama from the Carol
Burnett show. Hilarious!) to teenager Ray to the backwoods accents of the
trailer park residents to the righteousness of Dalen, Clay makes each character
unique and memorable. Whether the character is male or female, young or old, his
delivery is perfection, and this book is one of the few which doesn't need the listening speed increased. A quick search reveals Clay’s narrated a ton of
books – including some by one of my favorite authors, Preston Child – so I am
excited to listen to more of his performances.
Thank you to the author and
Audiobookworm Productions for providing me an audio download in exchange for my
honest opinion – the only kind I give.
I received this audio book as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Michael F. Stewart. The gifting of this audio book did not affect my opinion of it.
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RAY VS THE MEANING OF LIFE
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Stunned and honored by your fabulous and generous review, Kristene! Thank you ever so much. :)
ReplyDeleteNot generous at all -- I read a lot of books and yours deserves every bit of praise I gave it. Your narrator was amazing and sealed the deal.
DeleteOf course, I thought Monty Python. This is the kind of book I need.
ReplyDeleteJenn, it is awesome. I expected to like it, but I LOVE this book and will be recommending it all over.
DeleteThis looks adorable!
ReplyDeleteIt was -- not sure the author intended it to be adorable, but it absolutely was!
DeleteGreat review. It is wonderful to find a 5 star read!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It really worked on all levels for me.
DeleteSounds like I will enjoy this too. And I'm glad you did. It's been a while since I've read something that is really humorous. And I'm hoping to finally try an audiobook soon. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIf you like YA and you like the kind of humor of real FOLK, then this is a great choice. The narrator is amazing with those voices.
DeleteI really like the sound of this book! I will definitely have to check it out. Great review!
ReplyDeleteDo! And thank you!
DeleteThis looks like a rather fun read! Thank you for sharing your review with us!
ReplyDeleteSo much fun, and so solidly small town American teenaged boy. I loved it.
DeleteReferences to Monty Python AND Dr Who. This book is calling to the nerd in me, Kristine!
ReplyDeleteSeriously. It was a lot of fun!
DeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteGreat review. Agree with the others I immediately thought of Monty Python. Might just have to check this book out.
ReplyDeleteIf you like YA that doesn't drip in romance, this is a fab choice.
Delete