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Becoming Human
Can a Grim Reaper Survive Eleventh Grade?
As a Reaper, it is Mary’s duty to guide the dead to the afterlife. For the past 50 years, her assignment has been to retrieve souls in terrifying war zones. When a simple mission pushes Mary to her breaking point, the deity of the Reapers banishes Mary to the mortal world.
When everything she’s ever known about humanity is turned upside down, Mary is forced to leave her past behind and open her heart. She realizes that all Humans aren’t as terrible as she believed, but some are much worse than she ever imagined.
As a Reaper, it is Mary’s duty to guide the dead to the afterlife. For the past 50 years, her assignment has been to retrieve souls in terrifying war zones. When a simple mission pushes Mary to her breaking point, the deity of the Reapers banishes Mary to the mortal world.
When everything she’s ever known about humanity is turned upside down, Mary is forced to leave her past behind and open her heart. She realizes that all Humans aren’t as terrible as she believed, but some are much worse than she ever imagined.
228 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2017
9 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Samantha C. Bell
3 books6 followersSamantha C. Bell is a college student who takes time to read and write wherever she goes. She writes paranormal and dystopian stories with a romantic twist. Becoming Human is her first Young Adult novel.
Her first project The Curse: A Vampire Tragedy was finished in 2010 and can be read for free on Wattpad She has recently written articles for online magazines.
You can find her blog and book reviews at SamanthaWrites.ca She also tweets sporadically with the handle @SamanthaWrites0 .
Her first project The Curse: A Vampire Tragedy was finished in 2010 and can be read for free on Wattpad She has recently written articles for online magazines.
You can find her blog and book reviews at SamanthaWrites.ca She also tweets sporadically with the handle @SamanthaWrites0 .
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 29, 2017
(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to author Samantha C. Bell.)
This was a YA story about a reaper forced to become human for a time.
I liked Mary as a character, although I worried at how trusting she was, especially when it came to the resident mean girl at her school. I just thought that considering her opinions on humanity, you wouldn’t expect her to be so trusting of them!
The storyline in this was about Mary being forced to become human for a time because she didn’t see the good side of humanity, only the bad. She was turned into a 16-year-old girl, and had to make friends and learn to live as a human, even though she knew her time as a human was finite. We did get a romance storyline as well, between Mary and a guy called Logan, and they did make a really cute couple, although the fact that Mary was only going to be human for a brief time kind of overshadowed things.
The ending to this okay, although I was a little concerned about one thing.
6.5 out of 10
“Humans aren’t deserving of souls.”
This was a YA story about a reaper forced to become human for a time.
I liked Mary as a character, although I worried at how trusting she was, especially when it came to the resident mean girl at her school. I just thought that considering her opinions on humanity, you wouldn’t expect her to be so trusting of them!
The storyline in this was about Mary being forced to become human for a time because she didn’t see the good side of humanity, only the bad. She was turned into a 16-year-old girl, and had to make friends and learn to live as a human, even though she knew her time as a human was finite. We did get a romance storyline as well, between Mary and a guy called Logan, and they did make a really cute couple, although the fact that Mary was only going to be human for a brief time kind of overshadowed things.
The ending to this okay, although I was a little concerned about one thing.
6.5 out of 10
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July 13, 2020🎁 Free on iBooks today (7/13/2020)! 🎁
January 15, 2020
Mary is a reaper. For fifty years, she performs her duties without complaint. She hates what she does, and she hates humans. She hits her breaking point when she's expected to start mentoring new reapers. She blows up and terrifies her first charge. As a punishment, she's made into a human to learn the true extent of human nature. She will remain a human until she's learned the lesson she's meant to learn.
I really wanted to love this book. I mean the concept of the plot is absolutely amazing. I loved it. There were just many things I didn't really care for. One of the biggest issues I had was the fluid way time went by that wasn't really clarified in some spots. So I got a little lost now and then. I will admit that most of my dislike is because I'm an adult. Some of it was just too juvenile for me. Don't get me wrong, I understand teenage things. I was a teenager once. It's hard to explain. I will restate that I loved the concept behind this plot.
My BIGGEST issue is that I really could not stand Mary at all. I will admit that I warmed up to her a little towards the end. It was literally at the very end. There were things that she did through the ENTIRE book that just made me want to yell. It was so frustrating! Then there was the fact that she went from not understanding one second to completely knowing about it in all context another. With no show of her learning or figuring it out. It was very frustrating. That and the fact that she had snide judgmental comments through the entire book!
This book was narrated by Taylor Barton. I really enjoyed her narration. She did an amazing job. I especially love her depiction of each and every character. She took the time to give every one of them a voice behind their personality. I know this is a given with narration, but it's not always done properly. I love when narrators nail it as fully as she did.
I was not in love with this book. It was mainly because of my complete dislike of the main character. I will admit that most of the reason I didn't care for this book was personal. I fully encourage anybody who is interested to give it a shot anyway. While I may not have fully enjoyed it, somebody else may fall in love with it. I fully respect their opinion.
I really wanted to love this book. I mean the concept of the plot is absolutely amazing. I loved it. There were just many things I didn't really care for. One of the biggest issues I had was the fluid way time went by that wasn't really clarified in some spots. So I got a little lost now and then. I will admit that most of my dislike is because I'm an adult. Some of it was just too juvenile for me. Don't get me wrong, I understand teenage things. I was a teenager once. It's hard to explain. I will restate that I loved the concept behind this plot.
My BIGGEST issue is that I really could not stand Mary at all. I will admit that I warmed up to her a little towards the end. It was literally at the very end. There were things that she did through the ENTIRE book that just made me want to yell. It was so frustrating! Then there was the fact that she went from not understanding one second to completely knowing about it in all context another. With no show of her learning or figuring it out. It was very frustrating. That and the fact that she had snide judgmental comments through the entire book!
This book was narrated by Taylor Barton. I really enjoyed her narration. She did an amazing job. I especially love her depiction of each and every character. She took the time to give every one of them a voice behind their personality. I know this is a given with narration, but it's not always done properly. I love when narrators nail it as fully as she did.
I was not in love with this book. It was mainly because of my complete dislike of the main character. I will admit that most of the reason I didn't care for this book was personal. I fully encourage anybody who is interested to give it a shot anyway. While I may not have fully enjoyed it, somebody else may fall in love with it. I fully respect their opinion.
December 23, 2019
I offered to review this audiobook because I am such an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audio due to my schedule. Because of this, and the fact that a bad narrator can destroy a great series, I can be very critical of narrators. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. Taylor Barton does a great job in narrating this book! It was a very enjoyable listen and I didn't have any issues distinguishing between characters.
As to the story, I am not one to give a lot of specific story details since I feel you should read the story for that. Becoming Human is a new twist on the reaper stories, which makes for a very interesting read (or listen). It includes interesting characters and great plot twists that will keep you listening long into the night. You won't be disappointed!
I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.
As to the story, I am not one to give a lot of specific story details since I feel you should read the story for that. Becoming Human is a new twist on the reaper stories, which makes for a very interesting read (or listen). It includes interesting characters and great plot twists that will keep you listening long into the night. You won't be disappointed!
I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 12, 2017
Of course, I'm biased, but this book is the product of 3 years of writing, editing and heartbreak! I'm so thankful for everyone I know who has helped this book finally come to fruition. A big shout out to NANOWRIMO 2015, where Becoming Human finally became what it is today.
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did writing it.
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did writing it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews