Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #9: A character-driven novel)
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge
The Reason
This is one of those books I’d heard about but never read, and it was immediately available on my library’s catalog and only four hours on audio, so I thought, why not?
The Quotes
“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”
“The way I see it,” Miles went on, “it’s no good hiding yourself away, like Pa and lots of other people. And it’s no good just thinking of your own pleasure, either. People got to do something useful if they’re going to take up space in the world.”
“But dying’s part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can’t pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest. Being part of the whole thing, that’s the blessing.”
“You really have to love words if you’re going to be a writer, because as a writer, you certainly spend a lot of time with words.”
The Narrator
Peter Thomas. Everything was just perfect, I have no complaints!
My Thoughts
Look, I’m just going to ignore the whole kidnapping thing, Stockholm Syndrome thing, possible grooming of a 12-year-old girl by a 17-year-old boy, or a 104-year-old man, depending how you see it. I’m taking it at face value, and it’s such a sweet story. Bittersweet. Scary too, if the bad guy had gotten his way.
Personally, if there was a spring that could grant me immortality, I would go for it. I might regret it because there’d be no way out if I wanted to die, but if so, then I’d spend my life looking for a way to die, and then I’d have a purpose to live! Ironic. But seriously, I love the idea of living forever and staying the same age. Of course, I’d prefer to become immortal when I was younger, but heck, I’d take it at this age. I’m not completely decrepit yet!
I do understand the thought processes that Tuck and his family has about their immortality though. It would be hard to never be able to stay in one place long, to never be able to have lifelong friends, to never be able to progress in life, get married and have kids, and grow old with them. I know that I would only take immortality if my husband lived forever with me. I would never choose it if he couldn’t come with me. I did feel like Miles could’ve tried again, but that’s a moot point by the end of the story.
My Feels
It’s a sad and lonely existence, the way the Tucks lived. They could’ve done much more with the gift, or the curse, they had. I loved what Miles said, about being useful if you’re going to take up space in the world. They may or may not like being immortal, but if you’re there, you may as well do something good with it.
My Rating
4/5 stars. It gives me a lot to think about.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
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