The 100 Year Miracle

May 16, 2016
This tedious novel from Ream (Losing Clementine), featuring Rachel Bell, a biochemist and chronic-pain sufferer, chronicles her race to unlock the analgesic properties of a rare bioluminescent arthropod native to Washington's San Juan Islands before it can complete its six-day life cycle and fall dormant for another 100 years. Escalating doses of prescription drugs will kill Rachel within the year, so she's hoping the centuries-old legends are true and the tiny creatures contain a compound that can save her. Such research is outside the scope of her university-funded study, so Rachel sets up a private lab in the home of ailing island resident Harry Streatfield, who agrees to keep the scientist's after-hours project secret in return for access to her experimental painkiller. Ream squanders an intriguing premise on shallow characters, leaden pacing, and an unsatisfying conclusion. A tonally jarring subplot involving Harry's ex-wife, her affair with a younger man, and her restoration of a sailboat muddies the main story line and threatens to push the book out of thriller territory and into the realm of women's fiction. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary.

August 1, 2016

A natural water wonder blooms once a century around a Washington State island, attracting scientists and the curious to the aurora that many believe has mystical properties. Hoping to save her own life, Dr. Rachel Bell is performing secret medical experiments that draw in local composer Harry, who is suffering from a painful and debilitating disease, and his ex-wife, Tilda, who has come home to help him. The reading by Xe Sands is strong, but the shifts in voice and focus are often abrupt. A lot happens over the six days of this brief novel that comes to a quick conclusion even as it shows Ream's potential as a storyteller. The segments concerning Rachel and Harry's struggles to create a lasting miracle make this memorable. This edition contains a bonus conversation with the author. VERDICT Despite its flaws, the audiobook is recommended for large collections ["An intriguing mix of scientific premise and personal relationships": LJ Xpress Reviews 6/24/16 review of the Flatiron: Macmillan hc.]--Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo

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