The Seat Beside Me

Rating:
Summary: Great message, good story
Review: An airplane crashes and the few survivors question why they lived while others didn't. One man COULD have made it, but chose to save others instead. His sacrifice leads the others to take a hard look at the decisions they made (or avoided making) in their lives. Ultimately, the book's premise is that each of us has an impact on the lives around us.

Rating:
Summary: Pass on this one
Review: I was not really impressed by this book. The characters were not developed enough to really care about. The plot line seemed forced and some of the dialogue was not believable. At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, I have to admit that at times as I was reading and a character was mentioned, I had to go back to remember what that person's particular situation was. It was like a bad made-for-TV movie. I would feel much safer in recommending Terry Blackstock's books instead.

Rating:
Summary: Pass on this one
Review: Others may write reviews with details of the characters of the book, but I think that this book is more than the sum of its parts. The book is fascinating, the characters are more than likeable (except one) - that is, we all know all of these people. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hated putting it down at night; but I couldn't wait to finish it so that I could loan it to others. All in all, I think the theme is that we can never know the effect we each individually have on someone else. Whether we sit beside someone for just a few moments and speak only one sentence or we are best friends for a lifetime, we do exert some influence. Similarly, they influence us. Sounds a bit simple, but it truly is profound to realize the possibility of the influence we have, one-on-one.

Rating:
Summary: Influence
Review: Others may write reviews with details of the characters of the book, but I think that this book is more than the sum of its parts. The book is fascinating, the characters are more than likeable (except one) - that is, we all know all of these people. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hated putting it down at night; but I couldn't wait to finish it so that I could loan it to others. All in all, I think the theme is that we can never know the effect we each individually have on someone else. Whether we sit beside someone for just a few moments and speak only one sentence or we are best friends for a lifetime, we do exert some influence. Similarly, they influence us. Sounds a bit simple, but it truly is profound to realize the possibility of the influence we have, one-on-one.

Rating:
Summary: Timely and Inspirational
Review: Would you die for a stranger? In light of the horrible events of September 11, 2001, this question has been asked over and over again. Everyday people have been heroes as well as those who have occupations where saving a human being is often an everyday occurrence.

IN THE SEAT BESIDE ME, Nancy Moser explores this question and much more via the survivors of a tragic airplane crash and the lessons they learn from those who died who were sitting next to them.

Sun Fun Airlines flight 1382 to Phoenix has been delayed because of snow. As the airplane sits on the tarmac being de-iced, several of the passengers begin to talk to those sitting next to them.

Merry Cavanaugh is a young wife and mother who wants more. She has a friend in Phoenix who is footloose and fancy-free and she is looking forward to spending some time partying with her and forgetting her real life for awhile. Imagine her shock when her husband and young daughter join her on the flight as a surprise.

George Davanos is going to Phoenix to kill himself. His wife of many years died of cancer seven months previously and he is still so grief-stricken that all he wants to do is join her. The man sitting next to him is a man who has just received a new awakening in his spiritual life. He is on a business trip, taking the place of a co-worker who has a wedding to attend.

Schoolteacher Tina McKutcheon is traveling to Phoenix for some fun in the sun and a break from her boyfriend and her students. She is so tired of surly teenagers. When she spots a teenage girl entering the plane she looks at her decides she wants anyone BUT her to sit next to her. Of course, she doesn't get her wish and instead teenager Mallory sits next to her and starts up a conversation.

Sonja Grafton is on the plane because she pulled a dirty trick on a co-worker, causing her superiors to select Sonja to go to the convention in Phoenix. She would rather just relax on the way to Phoenix and not talk to anyone. Her seatmate, Roscoe Moore, has different ideas.

Plastic surgeon Anthony Thorgood is a pompous, arrogant man who thinks he is so much better than anyone else. When he sits next to a rather large, unkempt woman he makes several preconceived observations of her.

When the plane crashes into a bridge and then into a river on take-off, there are only five survivors. Those five survivors, Merry, George, Tina, Sonja, and Anthony, are forced to take another look at their lives. In addition, who was the mysterious man -- dubbed a hero by the media -- who passed a lifeline to others not once, not twice, but a total of four times before disappearing in the icy water?

In addition to the survivors, playing a significant role in the story is reporter Dora Roberts who had been scheduled to be on that same flight in order to be with her mother in Phoenix who was to undergo surgery. Just before she's to leave, her mother calls with the news that her surgery has been cancelled as she apparently has been miraculously cured. Of course Dora just figures that the doctors had been wrong initially. But instead of being a victim of flight 1382, she writes about it.

One of the words one could use to describe THE SEAT BESIDE ME is intense. It is also fast-paced and a quick read which is ultimately uplifting as lessons are learned and the characters learn what is truly important in their lives.

Evangelistic Christians are the targeted readers of this book. Others may find this book more than just a little bit "preachy" and feel that with the focus of the book being as it is, that the author is mainly "preaching to the choir." But as a more liberal Christian myself, I still found the story compelling and worthwhile. I only bristled one time, and that was when one of the minor characters was criticized for her Buddhist faith. I believe it would have been more effective for the book to leave out this aspect rather than risk turning off anyone who is sympathetic to those of other faiths. That reservation is rather small, and can be overlooked in view of the "bigger picture." I read the book in a day, and that is high praise indeed for someone who is normally a slow reader. My recommendation is for readers to keep an open mind and enjoy the story itself, for the lessons the characters learn are very worthwhile and speak to everyone

Rating:
Summary: Timely and Inspirational
Review: Would you die for a stranger? In light of the horrible events of September 11, 2001, this question has been asked over and over again. Everyday people have been heroes as well as those who have occupations where saving a human being is often an everyday occurrence.

IN THE SEAT BESIDE ME, Nancy Moser explores this question and much more via the survivors of a tragic airplane crash and the lessons they learn from those who died who were sitting next to them.

Sun Fun Airlines flight 1382 to Phoenix has been delayed because of snow. As the airplane sits on the tarmac being de-iced, several of the passengers begin to talk to those sitting next to them.

Merry Cavanaugh is a young wife and mother who wants more. She has a friend in Phoenix who is footloose and fancy-free and she is looking forward to spending some time partying with her and forgetting her real life for awhile. Imagine her shock when her husband and young daughter join her on the flight as a surprise.

George Davanos is going to Phoenix to kill himself. His wife of many years died of cancer seven months previously and he is still so grief-stricken that all he wants to do is join her. The man sitting next to him is a man who has just received a new awakening in his spiritual life. He is on a business trip, taking the place of a co-worker who has a wedding to attend.

Schoolteacher Tina McKutcheon is traveling to Phoenix for some fun in the sun and a break from her boyfriend and her students. She is so tired of surly teenagers. When she spots a teenage girl entering the plane she looks at her decides she wants anyone BUT her to sit next to her. Of course, she doesn't get her wish and instead teenager Mallory sits next to her and starts up a conversation.

Sonja Grafton is on the plane because she pulled a dirty trick on a co-worker, causing her superiors to select Sonja to go to the convention in Phoenix. She would rather just relax on the way to Phoenix and not talk to anyone. Her seatmate, Roscoe Moore, has different ideas.

Plastic surgeon Anthony Thorgood is a pompous, arrogant man who thinks he is so much better than anyone else. When he sits next to a rather large, unkempt woman he makes several preconceived observations of her.

When the plane crashes into a bridge and then into a river on take-off, there are only five survivors. Those five survivors, Merry, George, Tina, Sonja, and Anthony, are forced to take another look at their lives. In addition, who was the mysterious man -- dubbed a hero by the media -- who passed a lifeline to others not once, not twice, but a total of four times before disappearing in the icy water?

In addition to the survivors, playing a significant role in the story is reporter Dora Roberts who had been scheduled to be on that same flight in order to be with her mother in Phoenix who was to undergo surgery. Just before she's to leave, her mother calls with the news that her surgery has been cancelled as she apparently has been miraculously cured. Of course Dora just figures that the doctors had been wrong initially. But instead of being a victim of flight 1382, she writes about it.

One of the words one could use to describe THE SEAT BESIDE ME is intense. It is also fast-paced and a quick read which is ultimately uplifting as lessons are learned and the characters learn what is truly important in their lives.

Evangelistic Christians are the targeted readers of this book. Others may find this book more than just a little bit "preachy" and feel that with the focus of the book being as it is, that the author is mainly "preaching to the choir." But as a more liberal Christian myself, I still found the story compelling and worthwhile. I only bristled one time, and that was when one of the minor characters was criticized for her Buddhist faith. I believe it would have been more effective for the book to leave out this aspect rather than risk turning off anyone who is sympathetic to those of other faiths. That reservation is rather small, and can be overlooked in view of the "bigger picture." I read the book in a day, and that is high praise indeed for someone who is normally a slow reader. My recommendation is for readers to keep an open mind and enjoy the story itself, for the lessons the characters learn are very worthwhile and speak to everyone