BILL WARRINGTON'S LAST CHANCE: REVIEW AND BONUS ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDED
BILL WARRINGTON'S
LAST CHANCE
BY JAMES KING
(PART TWO)

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:

Bill Warrington's three children escaped their father’s domineering presence long ago, but with a new diagnosis that threatens his mind and his most cherished memories, this monumentally stubborn ex-Marine is determined to patch up their differences before it’s too late.

The younger Warringtons, however, have their own issues to contend with: Marcy's struggles to raise her headstrong teenage daughter on her own; Nick's inability to move on with his life after his wife’s death; and Mike’s ego maniacal, self-absorbed philandering that threatens his career and his own family. When all three grown siblings greet Bill's overtures with wary indifference, he improvises a scheme none of them could have foreseen: skip town with Marcy’s fifteen-year-old daughter, April, whose twin ambitions to learn how to drive and to find rock stardom on the West Coast make her his perfect--and perfectly willing--abductee.

Despite his carefully crafted clues as to their whereabouts, Bill's plan to force a family reunion soon veers dangerously off course. His dementia worsens more quickly than anticipated, and April finds herself behind the wheel of his beloved Chevy Impala, dealing with situations no fifteen-year-old should face while gaining surprising insights into a complex family history that emerges from Bill's fragmented flights into the past. With the American heartland yielding to the Rockies, and her mother and uncles grappling with their own recollections as they scramble to find her, April’s resolve to protect her grandfather--and honor his final lucid wishes for them all--culminates in a tour de force of reconciliation and atonement.

A rich multi-generational saga, Bill Warrington's Last Chance soars with humor, compassion, and unflinching insight into the pain and joy of all family life, while the promise of a new generation shines bright against the ravages of aging in a man who does not go gently… anywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James King has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years. Specializing primarily in corporate communications, Jim has also had nonfiction articles published in The New York Daily News, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, Catholic World, and a wide variety of business periodicals.

A native of Lakewood, Ohio, King lives in Wilton, Connecticut with his wife, Joanne, and their two children, Katie and Daniel. To read more about James King, go to HERE to read Jim's interview with BOOKIN' WITH BINGO and also get some more entries for a chance to win this wonderful book.

MY REVIEW:

In BILL WARRINGTON’S LAST CHANCE, James King offers readers a story about a journey. What that journey is, however, depends on your perception of this decidedly well written story. In the forefront, aged widower Bill Warrington simply wants to reunite his three children and make his family whole one last time before his travels end. In order for this to happen, he must take off with his headstrong 15 year old granddaughter, April, as his ally and support. She is also his bait, or you might say his willing hostage, as April sees in her grandfather, a bit of relief. Even with his failing memory and his early stages of Alzheimer’s, April feel better off with Bill than stuck at home with her controlling mother.

With Bill’s wife, Claire, no longer there as the glue that held the Warrington family together, the three siblings went their own way and other than April’s mom, Marcy, pretty much have little to nothing to do with their father, or each other anymore. Marcy, in fact, is trying hard to become an independent woman but she still has an inner sense of obligation to her father.

Nick recently lost his wife also and as the middle child, he has his own problems dealing with his grief and making a new life for himself. The eldest, Mike, might as well not be mentioned, in my opinion, as he is a loathsome human being. With a lovely wife, great kids, and a good job, he still isn’t satisfied and so his journey takes him into adultery and obnoxious behavior. I felt that Mike’s treatment of his father was despicable but also quite appropriate given the kind of character that he is. All three siblings take a life changing journey as the story is told.

As April and her grandfather travel west from Ohio to California, their trip turns into much more than April bargained for. Bill’s dementia declines rapidly putting April even in danger at times, and we witness her quickly mature and take on the roll of guardian. As their rolls reverse, and their bond deepens, we see April literally growing up as Bill slips further away.

James King does such an excellent job of fleshing out the characters, especially with Bill, April, and Marcy, that the ending comes too quickly. This was a book that grabbed me from the first page. The ending is affecting in ways, while remarkable and fitting in others. Much like Michael Zadoorian's THE LEISURE SEEKER, the irony has that certain twist to it; almost a kind of humor that touches the reader in ways you will discover long after you have read BILL WARRINGTON’S LAST CHANCE.

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