Book Review of The Blue Diary by Shannon Allen @AuthorMissMae

Book Title: The Blue Diary

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 4

Author: Shannon Allen

Date Published: 4 September 2017

Synopsis:

Sometimes the most simple, but most endearing, moments are treasured in unexpected ways and methods.

Review:

The Blue Diary by Shannon Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must admit that I am not a huge reader of memoirs. However, I was asked if I would be willing to read this one. I agreed and received a complimentary copy of this book from the author with no expectation of a positive review. This is a short memoir based on the memories of the author at a young age and is dedicated to her grandmother.

At the age of eleven Shannon (the author) kept a diary to record events she wanted to remember. This story gives us a glimpse into her thoughts and feelings of her younger self as she re-reads her entries now that she is older. As the story was short, I found it interesting to read, but it is more of a reminiscence than anything else. It only took me roughly ten minutes (if that) to read and didn't engage me emotionally. However, this is probably because I am used to reading novels rather than short stories.

After I finished this tale, I remembered that I tried to keep a diary as a child, but I never got the whole idea of writing down the events of the day. Most of the time I forgot to write in my diary and so it remained empty for the most part. I am envious of people being able to write their thoughts and feelings down every day. I'm generally too exhausted or have nothing of interest to say about the day's events now that I'm older to even consider keeping a diary. I'm sure reading back your diary's entries would bring back memories, but it would be the readers in the future who would probably be intrigued by the social aspects, or scratching their heads at some of the entries that wouldn't make sense to anyone but the writer of the diary.

Diaries are a snapshot into the social (mostly), as well as economic and political aspects of our lives. Today's diaries are now available in the virtual world as online blogs and vlogs. However, I feel there are some things that should never be made public. Diaries, blogs and vlogs can have both positive and negative aspects to their use. Future scholars may or may not find your diary, blog or vlog of great significance due to the contents. For the most part, it is still the best way to record your thoughts and feelings about the events (or non-events) that happen in your life. I wouldn't consider keeping one now, but I would encourage others to keep one if they feel the need to express their thoughts and feelings, either on paper or on a computer. It can be a useful tool for therapy or just to unload the detritus of everyday life. - Lynn Worton

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Purchase Link:

Smashwords

About The Author:

This is her first foray into the writing world, therefore there is not much information. However, you can find her at Smashwords and Goodreads.