Journal Entry 1 by Lemonitsa from Montréal, Québec Canada on Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Dr. Sarah Halifax decoded the first-ever radio transmission received from aliens. Thirty-eight years later, a second message is received and Sarah, now 87, may hold the key to deciphering this one, too . . . if she lives long enough.

A wealthy industrialist offers to pay for Sarah to have a rollback—a hugely expensive experimental rejuvenation procedure. She accepts on condition that Don, her husband of sixty years, gets a rollback, too. The process works for Don, making him physically twenty-five again. But in a tragic twist, the rollback fails for Sarah, leaving her in her eighties.

While Don tries to deal with his newfound youth and the suddenly vast age gap between him and his wife, Sarah struggles to do again what she'd done once before: figure out what a signal from the stars contains. 

Journal Entry 2 by Lemonitsa from Montréal, Québec Canada on Sunday, June 01, 2008

RES for the person who holds it at the end of the BookObsessed May Sci-Fi Swap :)

ETA: June 09- this book will be going to krin511! 

Journal Entry 3 by Lemonitsa from Montréal, Québec Canada on Tuesday, June 17, 2008

OK. So I have to explain a little why I gave this book a 6. First, I wanted to give it a 5 1/2 but that doesn't work.

The idea behind this book, as described in the blurb on the back (and in the first entry here) sounded awesome and that's what made me buy it. I wanted to read about the decoding, about the struggle, about the race against time.

This, unfortunately is not what I actually read. Most of the book was about Don, his feelings, his memories and his actions.

I know I seem a little harsh. I guess my feelings are based on what I expected and what I actually got. Even with the story being more Don oriented than Sarah oriented, I probably would have liked it if not for the author's constant reminding me of how "Canadian" the characters are. As a Canadian myself, I don't need 10 references to my country in 2 pages in order to feel that this story is written for me (and not just once or twice!). Once in a while it's nice to read a passage that talks about something completely Canadian, I smile and say "yup, that really is right" but in this book it was overdone. It's almost as if the author needs to affirm that "I am Canadian and don't you forget it."

All that said, I will add that it is still an awesome idea, the one about getting a message from another planet in answer to what Earth sent, and the last three-four chapters were a joy to read. They would have been even better had they not been slightly rushed, almost as an afterthought. I enjoyed reading about Don's family, and how he kept his promise to Sarah.

(finished) 

Journal Entry 4 by Lemonitsa at on Thursday, June 19, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (6/19/2008 UTC) at

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Flying to krin511! I hope you like the story :) 

Journal Entry 5 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Monday, June 30, 2008

Arrived yesterday - thanks! 

Journal Entry 6 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Sunday, August 17, 2008

This was a thought-provoking book about youth and age, ethics and alien contact. I liked the conversations Sarah and Don had about the Draconis aliens. 

Journal Entry 7 by krin511 at Controlled Releases, Another bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (9/9/2008 UTC) at Controlled Releases, Another bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

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Mailed to tranq1! 

Journal Entry 8 by tranq1 from Tampa, Florida USA on Saturday, September 13, 2008

Received from krin511 for the SFF VBB on bookobsessed.com. Thank you. 

Journal Entry 9 by tranq1 at Tampa, Florida USA on Saturday, November 05, 2011

I read this book because I was interested in the concept of restoring an old person to youth and good health. The book addresses some of the issues with this process, but there were many other issues that it touches on but doesn't really explore. I would have liked to see the book deal with some of these issues instead of a warm fuzzy happy ending. 

Journal Entry 10 by tranq1 at cruise ship in Tampa, Florida USA on Saturday, November 05, 2011

Released 6 mos ago (11/5/2011 UTC) at cruise ship in Tampa, Florida USA

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I left this book in the library of the Royal Clipper cruise ship.