by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2025
You know how I frequently lament the formulaic drivel that is so often touted as “Bestseller” or “Best Novel of (insert year)”. Today I finished a book (in less than two days) that blows all those so-called bestsellers out of the water.
This novel was rejected over 85 times by agents and publishers before the author decided to self-publish. THIS is a bestseller. THIS is the best novel that I have read in years. THIS is the novel they should make into a movie.
The Raffle Baby by Ruth Talbot does what a novel should do. I could break it down into ‘the formula’ if I was so inclined. But the ‘formula,’ the blueprint, is so well concealed that I would have to put some thought into finding it.
It isn’t a particularly long novel, only 154 pages, but perhaps that is precisely why it is so impactful. The author does not ramble on to make up the requisite 300 pages; she dives right in and pulls the reader from one thought, one event, one thread to the next one without wordy ruminations.
As always, if I need to have a pencil in hand while reading to underline sentences, then I know I am into something worthwhile.
“The most important moment of your life does not declare itself while it is approaching.”
“Is it not true that the landscape of our lives changes depending on the company we keep?”
Thought provoking, stop in your reading and THINK sentences. All interwoven in a compelling story that touches on universal themes like friendship, grief, and courage.
The agents and publishers missed out on this gem. Bless Talbot for having the courage to self-publish. The Raffle Baby has all the makings of a timeless classic.
Other Rivers 
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