You, Me, and the Colors of Life

By: Noa C. Walker, Lisa Reinhardt - translator

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Faced with challenges from an early age, Janica has learned to celebrate and enjoy every day as a gift. Her life-affirming attitude fascinates Thomas, a shy young man who begins to see the rich colors of life in a whole new light. As she reveals a world he never could have imagined for himself, Thomas falls head over heels for the strong young woman and becomes part of her quirky circle of friends and her loving family.

Their generosity of spirit draws Thomas out of his shell. He finds strength in their visits to the children's hospital where Janica volunteers, captivating the kids' attention with her imaginative stories. But all too soon fate deals them a harsh blow. Can their love survive life's obstacles?

You, Me, and the Colors of Life is a moving, hopeful story about the power of love and the power of living a life filled with joy.

©2015 Noa C. Walker (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Translation © 2016 by Lisa Reinhardt.

Colorful

Noa Walker created a wonderfully descriptive work that with the narration of Lauren Razor and the translation of Lisa Reinhardt kept us fully engaged. Even my young grandson enjoyed the descriptions that painted vivid pictures in our minds. Definitely worth every minute.

Tear-jerker

I was glued to the story. Couldn't put it down. Makes one appreciate life a little more and look at life a little differently. Would highly recommend.

Slow to get going

I struggled to stay with the book in the first half, because it was so slow to get to the story. The narrator's voice was too dramatic, so it reminded me of teenage drama.

:(

I kind of struggled through this book - Also I didn't really like the narrator, she sounded almost frantic at times.

Uplifting story.

Painfully sweet.
A balm to my soul.
A wonderful look to love, life and pain.
Loved it ❤

Astonishingly beautiful!

I don't remember where I got this recommendation from but I owe them a debt of gratitude. An all-consuming emotional experience and I loved every moment.

Hard to listen too

I did not enjoy the narration. There was just way too much angst constantly in the narrators voice. Made it very unenjoyable to listen to. I also don’t understand the need to overenunciate. The story was just OK. Somewhat predictable. Didn’t always keep my attention.

Wonderful book

Reminds one to live each moment fully and to accept it. It is beautifully written.

Very visual descriptions & enjoyable characters- caveat

I really enjoyed the characters & story and the performance. I liked how the author’s descriptions of the landscape were so details & easy to imagine.

This may not be for you if you have cancer in your family, as I do. If I had known, I wouldn’t have listened right now & almost didn’t finish.

Easily the worst I've read/listened to in 2021

Are Hallmark Christmas movies too nuanced for you? Is two dimensional one too many dimensions for your preferred characters? Do you want your chick lit romance novel to include undertones of religion and "blue lives matter" (or whatever the German equivalent is)? Does mainlining corn syrup not give you enough sugar? This is the book for you.

It's also the perfect book for writing teachers who want to explain to their students what they mean when they say "show, don't tell." Because boy does this book tell us what is happening without ever showing us. We are told that Janika is so spontaneous and Thomas is so rigid. We are told that Janika's friends are so wild and crazy and intimidating. We are told that Janika's sister is a famous pop star who has overcome past struggles. I couldn't find any actual evidence of these characteristics in the text (okay, one exception involving gifting a donkey, but that occurs much later) but the author told us they were true so...

Easily the worst book I've read all year and I hope it remains so. I can't handle another this bad. The narrator is mostly fine given what she has to work with but as she reads some of the more stilted "emotional" dialogue, I felt like it just highlighted how terrible the source material was.