By the time you read thisThis novel written by Lola Jaye is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. When the people who mean the most to us die, we all want to keep them as close as possible; especially during difficult times. That is exactly what Kevin Bates allowed his daughter Lois to do. He was told he only had six months to live when Lois was only five years old. On Lois’s twelfth birthday she receives a c.d. from her best friend and an unexpected present from her dad’s sister. She opened the unexpected present later that night when no one was around. It was a book titled The Manual. A note came in it that told her she could only read one chapter a year; one chapter per birthday until her thirtieth. No peeking. The book goes on and explains how The Manual, how her dad, has helped her even when he is no longer there.I absolutely loved this book. It was hard to put down and I finished it in a week. I accidentally came across it and I’m really glad I picked it up. It was very funny, relatable, and a tear jerker. I would highly recommend anyone to read it. It deals with the struggles of teenage years and young adult years. It talks about her friendships, many boy relationships, going to college, leaving home, unexpected news from her mother, her step dad, and much more. This book is very appealing to anyone.Lola Jaye’s purpose was definitely to entertain and to open our eyes more. She achieved this purpose well! Her dad wrote a manual for her to live by since he was no longer there. At the end of the book, Lois decides to write a manual for her son even though she’d still be there. She knew that her son would need to know things that she would forget as life went on. This is a cool idea, in my opinion, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting life lessons to teach your kids.I really loved the way Lola Jaye wrote this book. She didn’t drag out every detail about what happened. Each of the chapters is about one chapter in The Manual so the next we’d hear from her is the year after. She would leave a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter. She mentioned the outcome of the previous chapter in the current one. She would slip in the details when you least expect it. At the end of the novel it becomes a puzzle. All of the cliff-hanger’s solutions become pieces of the puzzle and she fits it all together and it all makes sense. The end of this book was the best ending of almost all the books I have read. By The Time You Read This was a great book. It all starts when Lois Bate's Aunt Philomena gives her "The Manual", a book written by her deceased father for her to read from ages 12 to 30. Every year on her birthday Lois reads a new entry from her father. I like that the book starts with Lois facing teenage problems, like bullies and first dates, but continues to her adult problems, like finding a career and family. Lola Jaye did a great job with characterization because I really felt like I grew up with Lois. The only thing I didn't like was at times when the book got a little cheesy or stereotypical. Overall, I thought the book was wonderful.
