Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"Raft" by Stu Krieger is a novel that takes readers on an unexpected journey through the trials and tribulations of Clark Whitaker, a children's book author and illustrator facing a midlife crisis. The story unfolds with a humorous and fantastical twist—Clark wakes up to find himself transformed into a penguin, offering a fresh perspective on life's challenges.

Krieger, an accomplished screenwriter and professor, brings his storytelling prowess to the literary world with this engaging tale. The narrative is cleverly told through the alternating voices of the Whitaker family members, each adding their unique viewpoint to the unfolding events. This narrative choice enriches the story, allowing readers to delve deeply into the family dynamics and individual struggles.

The book shines with clever dialogue and relatable characters, particularly in the portrayal of the family's interactions and the chaos of everyday life. Krieger's experience in writing for diverse audiences is evident in his ability to capture the voices of both adults and teenagers with authenticity and flair.

"Raft" is a reflection on identity, family, and the importance of embracing change. The novel's humor is balanced with heartfelt moments, creating a reading experience that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

In essence, "Raft" is a charming and imaginative novel that offers a lighthearted yet insightful commentary on the human condition. It's a delightful read for those who enjoy a blend of comedy, fantasy, and family drama.

Raft by Stu Krieger is clearly written by a man, for men.

It’s not badly written, it has humor and thank God the POV changed after a while because the male character is incredibly unlikable. The use of the word ya instead of you alone… And I wanted to tell this childish man: yes there is a world you clearly didn’t know existed where you do household shores (he had to do only a few) and you don’t get praised for it. Who knew!

Unfortunately in every POV the P or D word (whichever you prefer), is very present. The man is excused for inexcusable/unacceptable things and the word grose and its synonyms are used a lot too. I repeat, clearly written by a man.

This book wasn’t bad, the ATM doodle at the beginning was hilarious and it had some nice recognizable events but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Satire and humor can be quite difficult to pull off effectively, but this author did a nice job. Some of the story is a bit silly to me but it was a fun read.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I wanted to love this so much. Like, so much. It started off strong, but lost me about 25% into the book. I knew this was going to be one of those "willing suspension of disbelief" kind of novel, but there were too many conflicting parts of the characters, mainly the wife. She's uptight, but a pothead? Not sure how that works. The acceptance of the transformation here. Would you really not question your sanity more than a few hours before you accepted your dad was now a penguin?

The writing is well done, some of the humor is absolutely fantastic and dripping with sarcasm that I love.

It just didn't click with me.

*4.5 stars*

Absurd, funny and highly entertaining…

Stress can kill you. Or that’s what they say. What happens if you aren’t quite that far gone, but instead, you spontaneously morph from a husband, father, writer, worrier into a… penguin. That’s right, Clark, in an instant, becomes a carefree, cute as a button animal with the only bill he has to worry about now is the one on his face that he wants to stuff with all the fish…

Hilarious, poignant, this was a story of any family really. Teenage angst, career problems, and overdue payments – they’re all here. Even though they are the catalyst of many of the situations (and the major crisis) that is not what I dwelled on (though I highly enjoyed the funny bits). Instead, I read of a family coming together, foibles and all, working towards the health and safety of the man who was their rock. And perhaps needed a gentle reminder of how much he was and meant to them…

I didn’t think too hard about some of the shenanigans or the story would have fallen apart in a waterfall of disbelief. Instead, I enjoyed the humour, the heart and the relatability of mundane things you still have to deal with even if your dad/husband is now a penguin… The ending was abrupt, I wanted to have all the bows tied up nicely, but otherwise a wonderful, breezy read.

Just a story of everyday family folk… Clark, dad, is having problems with his work, the kids are at an awkward age and his wife probably doesn't understand him. He is also "nearly 50" according to the journal that this book starts with but "that has nothing to do with it". Anyway - one morning he wakes up as a penguin (like I said - everyday family folk…). The journal does continues with him as a penguin. I would say how the hell did he write it but he manages a remarkable amount with a beak and flippers!

We also hear from the other members of the family. Julia is the wife and generally she deals with things. Katie is the daughter and has other priorities such as school and life and stuff but she does love her dad really. His son is Charlie and his priorities are drama and girls - indeed there is a line somewhere about how long has it been since Charlie made any decision without the help of one portion of his anatomy - he is very much a teenage adolescent! Nonnie is a background character too and lives with them.

Comedy is such a difficult genre I think. I've read a fair number over the years and some have simply left me cold. This one - utterly daft though it is - kept me fairly well entertained. Also, being in mind that this is incredible, I found the characters mostly credible. Clark was pretty good as was Julia his wife. Charlie does get going immediately but he was fine. Mostly Katie, his daughter, was ok too. Overall the story worked quite well too - it is a different take on a mid life crisis maybe. For a family that wasn't communicating much this changed things!

The problem is always sustaining the humour. Too much and it loses it and too little means it isn't really comedy. Again I thought this struck quite a reasonable balance between story and comedy. Set in the USA as this is I guess some humour didn't work quite so well for me (in the UK). However much of it did. I guess I didn't laugh out loud but I did grin quite a lot. All in all this entertained me and my thanks to the author for that.

I don’t know if I have ever encountered the complete opposite of an existing literary work . Until now.
The Raft is the complete opposite of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
I’m not sure if it conceived as such, inspired by it, or merely a random thing, but there it is.

Mind you, it’s a very sunny, uniquely American in its relentless upbeatness revision. Now let’s look in detail:

1. Instead of a clerk turning into something that disgusts people, you have a children’s book author who turns into something everyone adores—a penguin.

2. Instead of having no reason for the transformation making it unsettling in its vagueness, here the reason presumably is stress.

3. Instead of the main character’s family abhorring the transformation, here they end up really going for it.

4. Instead of a bleak realistic narrative, this one turns cuter and cuter by page, eventually veering into something bordering fantasy complete with a quaint small town populated exclusively by gorgeous awesome people.

5. Instead of a realistically bleak ending, here it’s a doozy of a happy, shmaltzy one.

6. Instead of a poignant novella, you got a rambling novel-size adventure.

Which is why one is a literary classic and one is a silly book. A silly book that had a potential for more, but chose to (very deliberately, it seems) be as silly as possible.

Raft is entertaining, sure, but that’s about it. It’s cute, too cute, aggressively cute as the story progresses. So your reading enjoyment will directly depend on how much that works for you.
Overall, a light quick read. Thanks Netgalley.