This just didn't work for me.


Review copy provided by publisher.


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I didn't know what to expect from "The World of Pondside," but what I found were nursing-home residents not ready to give up no matter the circumstances. Mary Helen Stefaniak has created a community that you want to cheer for, stand up for and applaud their efforts. The death of a beloved resident who helped create a virtual playground for Pondside"s elderly population causes concerns -- and circumstances -- that no one expected. As the residents' stories unfold and their pasts are revealed, readers will smile, cry and their lives will be as fulfilling as those of the Pondside population.

I really enjoyed this book!! It was a little hard to follow because there were a lot of characters but once I was on track I was invested to see what exactly Pondside was and I never would have expected what I read! I also appreciated the illustration of the trauma that comes with war and ALS- I wasn’t familiar with ALS prior to this book and I truly feel like I have learned. The Audio was a fun experience and as I was listening I felt as though I had entered into Pondside.

[2 Stars]

In theory this should have been great, but in execution it was subpar (which seems to be the mantra of my 2022 reading at this point)
I really just needed more worldbuilding. The mechanisms and power of this VR game never felt completely realized to me, nor did the characters or the plot. The representation of ALS was nice to see, however, the way that it drove the final climax of the plot was a tad ridiculous. I think the 'murder mystery'/thriller concept was half-baked at best. And all in all, the book itself just got a tad boring.
Not one I'd recommend.

Video games...senior citizens...friendship...aging...giving meaning to life...this book is a story that is fiction but reads like real life. The citizens are quirky...it is a quick read...the book was sent to me by Netgalley for review electronically.

Such a unique story! I would recommend it to anyone, as it’s rooted in the human spirit to be, and do, more. A refreshing take on aging and what life lives within us, in a mystery.

This one has an interesting and original premise. Robert creates a virtual reality game for the assisted living residents of Pondside Manor. Now they're able to do things they never thought they'd be able to do again. The core group ~ Robert, Foster, Laverne and Duane were all likable and well written characters.

When Robert ends up in the pond, still sitting in his wheelchair, we're off to uncover the mystery of who pushed him in, or if it was suicide. I liked the secrets about China being uncovered.

This was a pretty long one coming in at 12 hours 43 minutes and 4 seconds. I've listened to quite a few books narrated by George Newbern and he did a pretty good job ~ maybe he could work on his female voice a smidgen.

Overall, this was just okay for me. At times I wasn't sure if they were in the now or in the game. It would probably be easier to follow along with that if I had read it and not listened.

*Thanks to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks and the author for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

I think the best way to describe this book is eccentric. This book wasn’t as much of a thriller as I thought it would be. It was definitely more of a slow-paced story, but it was an interesting read and the characters were endearing.

In this novel the reader enters both the physical and online world of Pondside via a nursing home and a video game of the similar name and setting. The plot centers on the death of a resident, Robert, who created the game while an employee, Foster, of the nursing home attempts to get the game back online and unpack the mystery of Robert’s death.

The label of thriller didn’t resonate with me – this was not suspenseful or thrilling – more of a slow build puzzle. The writing style was a long and winding path to the answers and there were several times where I considered putting the book down. The audience for this type of novel exists and may not be pulled in by the thriller label – perhaps a simple re-categorization would be useful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to listen to this book!

My feelings about this ebbed and flowed as I listened to this one. This certainly felt like a change of pace for me - medical thriller set in an assited living facility? A VR game holding secrets? I genuinely feel like this is going to live in my brain for quite some time, even if the pacing felt off every now and then.

This book was extremely monotonous in how it is written. There was nothing attention grabbing for a thriller and the characters had no personality outside of being older which I was hoping would show how we should care for the elderly more often. Evidently that was not the case and unfortunately I probably will not be picking up from this writer again based on my experience with this book.

A bittersweet story about a brilliant man who has created a way for people at the care home where he resides to revisit former glories. Memories and lost limbs are restored in the virtual world of Pondside. But when the creator of their alternate reality is murdered and Pondside ceases to function, residents determine to hunt down the person who pushed Robert's wheelchair into the pond and destroyed their dreams.. I enjoyed this story, but felt that it dragged a bit towards the end

I tried this on ebook but found it to sort of peter out along the way and wanted to pick up the audiobook because I enjoyed the beginning and thought the audio might add something. Unfortunately (and somewhat oddly), I found the audio to have a very slow start and I abandoned it fairly quickly.

My review of the book itself:
This began for me as a fun and quirky novel with some interesting characters. But, somewhere along the way, it became a bit too complex and didn’t finish as strong as it started.