#1 Amazon Bestseller Coming of Age, Literary Fiction, and Biographical Literary Fiction
Maxy Awards “Book of the Year”
American Fiction Awards Finalist
ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award Finalist
Independent Author Network Awards Finalist in “Debut Fiction”
Wishing Shelf Award (UK) Finalist
PenCraft Award 1st Place “Fiction-Drama”
“An emotional story that will leave readers meditating on the … Award 1st Place “Fiction-Drama”
“An emotional story that will leave readers meditating on the life-saving magic of kindness.” –IndieReader
With all his family and friends gone, one-hundred-year-old Murray McBride is looking for a reason to live. He finds it in Jason Cashman, a ten-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect and a list of five things he wants to do before he dies. Together, they race against the limited time each has left, ticking off wishes one by one. Along the way, Murray remembers what it’s like to be young, and Jason fights for the opportunity to grow old. But when tragedy strikes, their worlds are turned upside-down, and an unexpected gift is the only thing that can make Jason’s final wish come true.
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Sweet story.
Wonderful inspirational story
I can’t say enough about this book. It is a must read for everyone. This makes you stop and think and wish there were more people like Mr Murray. I cried I laughed. This book has it all.
Such a good story! The heart-warming tale of 100-year-old Murry McBride and ten-year-old Jason will bring a smile just before it leaves you drowning in tears.
Murray, a widower after losing his wife of eighty years, doesn’t have much left to live for. In fact, until he has an encounter with Jason, he’s considering simply setting aside the medication that’s keeping him alive, but the boy he meets, and the list of the boy’s five wishes lights a spark in Murray. Jason is in desperate need of a heart transplant, but has five things he’d like to accomplish before dying; Murray makes it his goal to see the boy gets his wishes.
There are sweet moments between the two, there are funny moments as they try to bridge their 90-year age gap, and there are moments when you’ll wish you could be there, cheering on the two unlikely friends.
I highly recommend this book!
This book is so wonderfully written that I found it truly remarkable that this was Mr. Sipel’s debut novel. What a concept! What a story! What excellent execution of the story!
The likelihood of one-hundred-year-old Murray McBride finding a reason to live upon meeting Jason, a ten-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect, initially seems a bit too contrived. But as the two join hearts and minds to find ways to fulfill Jason’s five wishes before dying, the magic takes over; and, as the universe has a way of doing, wishes come true in the most probable and improbable ways.
I laughed out loud at times at the spot-on dialogue. The author has the keen ability to humorously express the thoughts of both a hundred year-old and a ten-year old with equal plausibility. As far as making the wishes come true, Murray turns to the concrete things in life that are doable, while Jason clings to the absolute belief that anything is possible. This is a story that grabs you and holds you until the astonishing ending, which I did not see coming.
The author was able to make me initially suspend disbelief, then made a big believer out of me with the infinite possibilities available to us all with the right combination of realism and magic. Just wonderful.
A heartwarming story of second chances.
Upon the advice of his Doctor, 100 year old Murray McBride must seek out ways to socialize. After a couple embarrassing situations as a model, Mr. McBride sets his sights on volunteering at the local hospital. It is here that he meets a young boy with a bucket list.
This charming story will pull at your heartstrings as their friendship unfolds and each is given a new purpose in life. Funny, thought provoking and heartfelt, the cast of characters are all wonderful.
Though short in length, this novel has quite a bit of action and packs an emotional punch.
This was a feel good book. With everything happening in the world, we forget people are the most important things. Murray McBride is someone we could all use in our lives to care about us and be our friend. Seeing children and seniors together allows us to see the good in life. The two main characters have traits we can all relate to. Read this book to warm a cold heart.
I loved this book. You will laugh and cry and hate to come to the end. One of the best I’ve recently read.
Overall Rating = 4.63
Storyline & Concept = 5
Writing & Delivery = 4
Cover Marketability = 4.5
Editorial = 5
A very easy read, but definitely not in a negative way. One can instantly tell when a book is going to hit your feeling sensors directly. Murray McBride is 100 years old, lost his life-long wife, and has run out of reasons to keep going day in and day out. He befriends a dying 10-year-old boy who leaves his bucket list behind, and fate had it in store for Murray to find it. Together they attempt to cross off every single item on the list. Murray will bring your spirit up with ease, and make you hope you are half the man he is one day.
Sublime Line: “An emotional tale of finding the will to live again. Tag along in the Chevy with these two young souls and enjoy the ride.”
I felt like the characters were people I knew, that I could feel their individual predicaments, and that I wanted all of them to find the greatest success and happiness. What a wonderful story! I will surely read another book by Mr. Stiple!
It was amazing to see how a one-hundred-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy created a friendship. Neither one had long to live but the bond they created together while trying to do the 5 wishes was inspiring. It was wonderful the lengths Mr. Murray McBride went through to make things happen for Jason. Mr. Murray McBride said many times his regret he didn’t do these things for his sons was heartbreaking but when he and his grandson didn’t get along, it seemed he kept doing the same things again. But when Jason and he started doing the wishes, he learned a lot. I cried when he and his grandson finally talked and his grandfather always thought his grandson was waiting for him to die to seel all his baseball things. That is what I thought too when reading the book but then his grandson told him he was never going to sell the glove or any of it. He wanted the glove because when he was young, they played baseball together because his father was busy in the hardware store he just opened. He always wanted to be just like his grandfather and wanted his grandfather to be proud of him. He knew his grandfather wasn’t proud of him but that was what he wanted.
There is so much heart and soul to this story. It was inspiring, it was truthful, it was people who learned how to come together. It touched me because I could understand the grandson wanting his grandfather’s approval and he wanted to be just like him.
I am not going to give the story away but I sure hope everyone that comes across this book chooses to read it and find out what happens. It was inspiring.
A wonderful book on relationships! Also a reminder that our elderly have a lot to teach our youth.
I really enjoyed this book. Great characters, entertaining dialog and the ending packed an emotional wallop. Definitely worth a read!
“Without love, we might as well not exist.”
It’s a beautiful novel of Love, Hope, Wishes and Friendship between a ten year old boy and a hundred year old man.
It proves that best friends will always find each other no matter how long it takes. That love gives and receives with steadfast determination right to the very end without reservation.
Laughter and tears are a wonderful part of this plot.
SBK- (strong, brave and kind) definitely prevails throughout each of these amazing characters.
I loved it!
Ten stars!
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It was an emotional read…so have lots of tissues around. I literally sobbed out loud at times.
This book will tug on your heart strings, but you’ll also be cheering on Jason as he, Tiegan, and Mr. McBride struggle to fulfill the five wishes. As I read Murray McBride’s thoughts, I could see some of the senior adults in my church and imagine them expressing the same feelings. But what can a precocious 10-year-old boy and a precious 10-year-old girl do to change this old man’s outlook on life and death.
This is definitely one to put on your to-read list. It provided some valuable life lessons, made you sit down and take a hard look at what really matters to you, had you chuckling at some of the antics Jason and Murray they performed, and realizing the even a young child can make a huge impact in the lives of many people.
I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate the opportunity NetGalley gave me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a treasure and a story that will stay with me for years to come.
a beautiful story of love and friendship
I absolutely loved this book. It touched my heart like no other book has done in a long long time. The main characters are a very old man and a very young boy both facing imminent death. The love they shared was so beautiful it was actually contagious. I hated to see this book end. Losing the characters was like losing dear friends. I definitely recommend it.