Time With Norma Jeane - Elyse Douglas - ★★★.¼

-
AUTHOR: Elyse Douglas
GENRE: Historical Fantasy.
PUBLICATION DATE: January 13, 2020
RATING: 3.25 stars.


Ever read a book that you completed quickly but after you are done with it, you could move on immediately to the next book without any sense of loss? That was my experience with "Time with Norma Jeane."

I picked this up for the interesting plot summary. Imagine you time-travel and somehow end up meeting Marilyn Monroe! How fantastic would it be! Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to my expectations, which were especially high after seeing its GR ranking of 4.63.

"Time with Norma Jeane" tells the story of Darla, a sixteen year old teenager who, while walking her dog one evening, somehow goes through a time vortex and lands up in 1954. Through a chance encounter, she ends up not just meeting Marilyn Monroe, but also being taken under her protection. What adventures and self-discoveries are in store for both of them over the next few days forms the rest of the story. The special guest appearance of a famous singer is a wonderful surprise midway the book.

TWNJ is a decently good book. I could complete the book within two short reading sessions as the story flow makes you go through it pretty fast. Marilyn Monroe's personality seems to have been captured pretty accurately based on whatever I've read or seen of her.

But there is nothing extraordinary about the book.
Some scenes make you feel like the authors wanted to write a Marilyn Monroe biography in a creative way, and hence they chose this unique idea of using time travel to talk about her troubled life. Many of the dialogues simply don't fit in the situation and exist only to let us know more about Marilyn. There is no logical pattern to her behaviour too. Darla is a regular unremarkable teenager, not unnaturally beautiful, not unrealistically witty, not unfathomably intelligent. Then what about her appealed to Marilyn so much that she took her not just in her house but also in her heart, to the extent of saying "I love you Darla" within a couple of days? It just seems absurd, even if you take into account Marilyn's emotional neediness.

Overall, I'd say this is a simple YA story. There are hardly any quotable quotes for those who bookmark great lines from books. The ending does redeem the book a little bit, but not enough to salvage it entirely.

With thanks to BookSirens for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers' Rights - Edited by Ashley Hope Pérez - ★★★★

-
Image
EDITOR:  Ashley Hope Pérez GENRE: YA Nonfiction Anthology. PUBLICATION DATE: March 4, 2025. RATING: 4.1 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA anthology that focusses on the power of books and the impact of banning them. Mostly nonfiction with entries in the form of essays, comics, and poems. OwnVoices. Inclusive, informative, incisive and inspiring. Most of the write-ups are great; some are also a bit disturbing. Definitely recommended, and not just to the YA audience. I don’t think I need to offer any introduction on why banning books is a ridiculous notion. Even progressive societies opt for book banning, and worse, books are banned for the silliest of reasons. As such, the next generation must understand the futility of such actions and necessity of standing up for everyone’s right to read what they want. Of all book-related social topics, this is the most relevant issue today. Several shocking stats connected to book challenges and bans in the USA are contained in this anthology, and...
Read More»

Between the Lines - Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer GENRE: YA Fantasy RATING: 4 stars. Imagine this. The characters in the book you are reading have a life of their own, beyond what is written for their characters. And they do what they want to every time you close the book, only to be pulled back in their roles when you reopen the book. Unbelievable, right? Goes without saying then that I've never read a story like this before! That doesn't necessarily mean that I loved it. But the concept is mind-blowing for sure. Delilah, a fifteen year old introverted bookworm, is shocked to discover something new appear in the illustrations of her latest favourite read, a fairy tale about a cowardly prince who uses his wits rather than his valour to fulfill his royal duties. Soon, she realises that the protagonist, Prince Oliver, can actually talk to her, that he dreams of getting out of his routine and predictable "plotlife", and that the book world has a life of its own. Can Delilah h...
Read More»

The Invisibles - Susie Bower - ★★★.¾

-
Image
AUTHOR: Susie Bower GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy. PUBLICATION DATE: June 5, 2025. RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy-adventure about friendships, mistakes, and magic. Interesting characters, great plotline, some cool magic. A bit confusing in some segments and some unanswered questions. Overall though, it kept me hooked. Recommended. Plot Preview: It’s tough to preview this book without spoiling anything. The GR blurb also reveals too much. So this is just a barebones hint of the storyline and its key elements. ( I’ll keep my review equally vague so that I don’t inadvertently leak out key plot points. ) Land of Magics – friends – egos – libraries – danger – exile – Wasteland – amnesia – rebellion – adventure. The story comes to us in two voices: one in first person from a narrator who has lost her memory and one in third person from the character who initiates the chain of events. Bookish Yays: 🔮 The very first section of the book, titled “Before”. Outstand...
Read More»

God with Us: Bible Stories on the Road to Emmaus - Matt Mikalatos - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Matt Mikalatos ILLUSTRATOR: David Shephard GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: April 1, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphic novel that narrates stories from the Bible, using Cleopas’s encounter with Jesus on the way to Emmaus as the foundation. Innovative in concept and execution. Excellent (and racially-authentic) illustrations. Might be a bit tricky for the target audience of middle-graders as the narrative isn't linear. But adult supervision will help. Recommended. Children are always attracted to books with illustrations. So using a graphic novel to teach them stories from the Bible is a wonderful idea. But this book doesn’t just stop at this basic intent. Rather, its presentation sets it apart from other similar works. The story uses Cleopas’s trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus as the setting. As the Gospel of Luke mentions only Cleopas by name in its references to this journey that takes place on the day of Jesus’s resurrection, this book adds some fiction...
Read More»

Death Row - Freida McFadden - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Freida McFadden SERIES: Alibis Collection, #1 GENRE: Psychological thriller, Short story. PUBLICATION DATE: June 1, 2025. RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A short psychological drama about a woman on death row. Unreliable narrator, but not in the way you would expect. A fast read, but shouldn’t be read too fast lest you miss the clues. A clever story with a slightly confusing ending that makes brilliant sense once you ponder over it. A great start to the Alibis collection. Plot Preview: ( This preview doesn’t do justice to the plot. But I am keeping this vague as this story is best discovered by going in blind. The GR blurb reveals too much as usual .) Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband Noel. Despite proclaiming her innocence vehemently (she has a rock-solid alibi after all!), no one believes her. Her last hope is her final appeal for clemency, because if that is rejected, she has just two weeks for her execution by lethal injection. As she waits for him, s...
Read More»