ARA Review by R Marlaan Rush of Final Notice

[R Marlaan Rush]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Final Notice.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Final Notice[\i] by Van Fleisher
3 stars out of 5


The title and the idea caught my eye...I was definitely intrigued. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a story that answers the question of what would you do if you knew you only have X amount of days to live? The cover is clean yet simple and matches the story.

The story gives the author’s take on what could possibly happen when you know exactly when you’re going to die. We’re introduced to Vince and Trudy, a senior aged couple who are somewhat sheltered from life and view things through rose-colored glasses. Then we hear about the VT2, a technological wonder that can run sophisticated tests, analyze the results and notify the wearer if it detects a decline in their health that will result in their death. Through a series of events, we’re introduced to new characters that allows the author to introduce controversial topics. We see the characters react to the different events that happen concerning the VT2 and headlines in the news.


Even though the book started a little slow, my instant liking for Vince, Trudy and Miles (their little dog) kept me reading. About 1/2 way through, the book started having this all over the place vibe and there were too many side stories that I felt didn’t help the story along (Vijay and Jennifer’s love story, for example.) The many characters in this book had varied backgrounds (something I normally like) which allowed the author to discuss immigration and hate crimes, but I found that it took away from what I thought was the primary story-a person’s reaction to knowing they were going to die in a certain amount of days and the things they could possibly do.


I also felt he could’ve picked one or two of these Final Notice people and delved into their thoughts and feelings to give the readers more to devour. I also felt like there could’ve been more to the book as well...things felt hurried and not developed. And the ending was a little predictable, but secretly I was happy with it because I had fallen in love with them. That is good character development.


However, I would like to see more from this author because I like the idea of a Final Notice story. And I like his casual storytelling writing style. Hope to see a sequel or another book soon!

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