Boomer’s Bucket List
By: Sue Pethick / Narrated By: Cassandra Campbell
Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
Oddly enough, the third listen was much more enjoyable than the second?
I’m telling you, really! I soooo enjoyed Boomer’s Bucket List the first time, that I immediately started it all over again as soon as I’d finished crying into my hankie. But the second time I listened to it? I wanted to whack someone. Namely Nathan, our hero. He came off as a real jerk. And then there was Jennifer. I mean, did she ice up and shut down so much? I lost all patience with them that second listen.
But I wanted to listen to it this week cuz it came up when I was searching for something else in my audiobook Library, and I wanted something soothing with an animal in it. And I recalled with a vague nostalgia, a fondness I’d felt for the audiobook. I mean, it has Cassandra Campbell as a narrator, so there!
Well, I’ve gotta say, I wound up with a definite lump in my throat at the end, kinda sorta stretching over to contemplate getting that hankie. Only a familiarity with the ending kept me from weeping. No spoilers, but we all know how Bucket Lists end, right? I’d come to care for Boomer so much, and Jennifer tried so hard throughout the book to show her love as completely as possible, that it was impossible not to feel strongly at the end.
Yeh, yeh, yeh. Nathan still gets unbelievably toad-ish (no offense to toads) and turns into that jerk I’d mentioned, and yes, Jennifer does a bit of shunning, but I was able to plow through it this time rather than dwell on it. Go into Boomer’s Bucket List with a short attention span so that you don’t wallow in the grievously annoying. Start with Boomer; end with Boomer!
And like I said: Cassandra Campbell? She’s just one of my favorite narrators, that’s all. I’ve read reviews where she got slammed for her work in, say, spiritual practice books, and I’ve gotta agree: Nooooo! She’s not one to bring heavy-duty warmth to a production. Rather, she brings competence, the ability to do a variety of voices, the ability to cover the spectrum of emotions. What can I say? I like the woman, and I think the audiobook benefits from her “competence”.
All in all, I’m definitely pleased with my choice for this week’s Animal Pick. Boomer experiences so many things, and his going viral adds just that bit of tension that a good story needs. It reminded me of our dogs, both sweethearts, when we took them to the beach. It was something they’d never experienced before, and both my husband and I almost cried as we watched them rolling in the sand and running into the waves. Boomer’s Bucket List is just like that. It’s like doing everything you’ve ever wanted to do for a loved one.
It may be a light listen (with some toad-ish actions), but it’s a sweeeeeet listen!
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