1st Quarter SSR Book Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven

This quarter, I read the fictional book entitled The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom, as this captivating novel encompasses a total of 196 pages. The main character, Eddie, lives out the rest of his life on a day to day basis, working at the Ruby Pier amusement park as a lonely and elderly man. On his birthday, Eddie sacrifices his life after attempting to save a girl's life, pushing her small body out of the way of an descending and free falling roller coaster cart. He awakens, and realizes that he has died in the mortal world, ascending to a place neither Earth nor Heaven, but rather, in an intermediate stopping point. Eddie is soon whisked on a journey of encountering 5 lives he's both inadvertently and directly impacted; people whose lives were changed forever due to his choice of action in his past life. While on this journey, Eddie paves the way towards reflecting upon what he described as a meaningless and uneventful life, ultimately confronting who he was as a human through the 5 paths he had intertwined with.
In the novel, I appreciate how simplistic the book's writing was, as the novel never complicated the plot line with irrelevant information, convoluted descriptions, or fluff, getting straight to the point of Eddie's journey. The seemingly innocent and calm demeanor perpetuated in the novel was also an aspect of the writing that I liked, as the novel painted pictures of Eddie's experiences as a child, and ultimately tugged on my heartstrings through recollection of his old memories, both happy and sad. Though utilizing a simple yet captivating writing style, as a reader, I felt incredibly curious about all parts of Eddie's life, and was drawn into discovering the hidden histories behind the lives he converged with. I also loved how unpredictable the book could be, as characters of the 5 people he meets are seemingly the most random and out of the ordinary people. Yet, the novel is able to integrate their stories with Eddie's. All characters of the novel were dynamic as well, such as Eddie himself, confronting his demons throughout the duration of the novel. The book's introspective narrative allowed me to witness Eddie's evolution as an individual, page after page. Each character he meets had depth and reasoning behind their actions unbeknownst to Eddie, and caused me to question how big of an impact's created from my decisions, even if I consider them minute. I like how The Five People You Meet In Heaven emphasizes the idea of cause and effect, and allows me to reflect upon my own life through its heart wrenching plot. I truly recommend the book.