Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

BOOK SYNOPSISIn 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.MY THOUGHTSFirst let me just say that I really enjoyed this story, time traveling into the past has always been one of my favorite fantasies. The chance to see History as it is being made, or the chance to meet people who are long dead would be either a dream come true or a nightmare depending on where you ended up!Traveling back in time, meeting your own grandmother and knowing the nation was on the brink of war and everyone you have grown close to whose lives are going to be turned upside down and you cannot say anything to warn them. What a thought and what a predicament to be in!Joel Smith is one of those characters whose stories just suck you in, the beginning is innocent enough a young man and his best friend out on a road trip to clear their heads before taking their college finals. The excursion that Joel's curiosity leads him to take is one that a lot of people might think would be interesting. Old abandoned mine boarded up, what is the harm in taking a peek inside? Joel finds out that continuing the journey on the more traditionally travelled path rather than heading off on a lesser known one is a very prudent course of action when he finds himself transported almost 60 years into the past with nothing much but his charm, knowledge of sports history, good looks and a quick mind left to help him navigate the era of no credit cards, cell phones or other modern conveniences he took for granted in the year 2000.In my mind it would be very hard to travel back in time without causing some kind of major upset in the order of what happens later on in history, to not impact future events is something that truly seems almost impossible to pull off. For Joel that thought is uppermost in his mind, what actions he takes during his sojourn into the past have to be thought out carefully so they cause nothing important to his and his families future to be different. To that end he watches what he says and the only questionable use of future knowledge he employs is that of sports trivia. The atmosphere in 1941 is one that lends itself handily to "betting" on the outcome of certain events, Joel does so time and again bringing home quite a good amount of cash each time taking care to never raise suspicions with his "good luck".After meeting a young woman and falling in love Joel has another decision to face, if he gets the chance to go back home to the year 2000 should he take it or stay in 1941?For the answer to that question and many more read "The Mine", it will at times amuse you, it will make you question just how lucky we are to live in such a "modern world", it will restore your faith in the power of friendship and most of all it will make you yearn to experience for yourself the kind of adventure that Joel lived in the pages of this book! (Preferably with all the conveniences that we take for granted of course.)Recommended for those who enjoy sci-fi mixed with fantasy mixed with romance mixed with drama, this one has a bit of it all in just the right amounts to keep you entertained and keep you thinking as you read.Join myself and others and take the journey with Joel, watching a brash young man encounter people and situations which lead him to a change of attitude that will endear him to readers even more as the story progresses!A pleasant easy read that will allow you to enjoy some time to escape your own reality in favor of that of the characters in the book.[Ecopy of book provided by author in exchange for an honest review.]