The Importance of Now


Young Adult - Coming of Age
221 Pages
Reviewed on 10/18/2021
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lisa McCombs for Readers' Favorite

When Aidan gets curious enough about his dad, he begins looking for answers. Why his mother feels she cannot tell him about the man Aidan never met is beyond him. She is ready with excuses that it’s too soon and Aidan is too young. Grace isn’t ready to talk about the death of the one great love of her life. She is worn down with her son’s insistence and the undeniable evidence of her husband’s past in the form of court records and letters to and about the late, great Shawn Stevens. As Aidan begins to know his father during one long, emotional afternoon in the attic with his mother, he learns to value forgiveness and, more importantly, the necessity of taking advantage of opportunities at hand.

The Importance of Now by Paul Schumacher is filled with lyrical language and metaphoric magic: “Teenagers hoping to be older, parents wishing they were younger.” “I envisioned her kneeling on the floor, throwing things over her shoulders to find those pink slippers, deep in the bowels of her closet, way back by the skeletons.” Paul Schumacher gifts the reader with lessons on the human psyche and inspires us to be the best version of ourselves. Reading as an adult, I appreciate the hindsight of the story’s theme. I believe reading as a teenager, though, offers valuable content to the young reader. Told in dual periods, Paul Schumacher successfully maintains a tightly woven tale. Heartbreaking and beautifully written, The Importance of Now is a must for any book collection.