Life in a Neon Knapsack

De: Michael Evanichko

Narrado por: Carol Anne Shaw

In 1986, with only days until summer break, high school freshman Mamie Blackhead finds herself under the path of a small exploding plane while walking to school. Fighting to avoid the raining debris she discovers a neon knapsack with a journal detailing the life of a boy who may have perished in the sky above. As she digs deeper into the journal she uncovers a mystery that will haunt her the rest of her life.

©2023 Michael Evanichko (P)2023 Michael Evanichko

A dark family sit-com

This is the second audiobook I've purchased by this author and I enjoyed it just as much as the last.
This story is a sort of coming of age tale full of awkward situational humor as main character Mamie recounts her teenage years and the events that defined them.

While walking to school during her freshmen year, a small airplane explodes in the sky above her. As she dodges the falling debris, she finds a neon knapsack full of personal items from what she suspects is one of the now-dead passengers. Instead of turning it in, she keeps it and discovers the contents appear to be from a boy who wasn't listed as a passenger on the plane. As she reads through his journal, she learns about this boy's tragic life story, including a twist that will change her life forever.

This author's humor perfectly matches my own, which is why I enjoy his books so much. I love how he creates these wonderfully flawed characters who are so relatable. If you enjoy family sitcoms with mature themes, you will enjoy this book.

I also highly recommend the audiobook, Carol did a phenomenal job narrating the story.

Excellent story, excellent narratoe

I listened to the first half of this book in audiobook format and then switched to the ebook version for the second half. I highly recommend both formats, and this story as a whole.

Carol Anne Shaw did a wonderful job narrating this story, and as I read the book on my kindle, I imagined her voice as the voice of Mamie. I really enjoyed the inclusion of the journal entries in the book, and I loved being able to switch back and forth between the regular story font and the pages of the journal. It helped immerse me even deeper into the story.

Each book in the Trilogy of Life series has a special magic to it, and this third book is no different. Michael does a wonderful job creating characters that you instantly feel connected to. As Mamie told her story, I was completely invested in what would come of her unique and incredible experience. This coming-of-age story brings you straight into the 80's with the main character's personality, dialogue, and concerns being perfectly in-line with what I would imagine a teenager would experience during that time.

Not only that, but the part of Mamie's life this book covers include huge defining experiences that shape her future not only for herself, but for her loved ones as well. This book beautifully combines humor with tragedy, hope with despair, and so much in between.

I cannot recommend this book, or this entire Trilogy of Life series, enough. Thank you to the author, Michael Evanichko, for another amazing story!