Lost Boy by Shelley Hrdlitschka

**I received an advanced copy of Lost Book complimentary of NetGalley***

Lost Boy provides a fictional insight into the life of Jon, a polygamist escapee. Once a rule follower, he faces the possibility of punishment or exile when he is caught with the love of his life. The choice to escape is a difficult one as he leaves behind everything he knew. Luckily, his ex-polygamist friends know of a place that takes in runaways. Everything appears to be leading to a successful fresh start. But can Jon truly run from his past when it’s been ingrained?

Throughout reading this book, I had the show Escaping Polygamy in mind.  With that show, it is usually through a woman’s perspective. Lost Boy offered the perspective through a teenage boy’s point of view. That is what struck my interest. I felt a strong sense of sympathy for Jon when he began to encounter troubles. We get to see what issues may arise with those who escape from a polygamist community such as Unity. Challenges such as educational, social, and emotional are witnessed.

Jon begins his journey with a head full of optimism. That soon fades when he is thrown into school life. He starts to question if he made the right decision to leave Unity. A time gap does occur to display his struggles coping with the “gentile” lifestyle. Personally, I would have liked more of an explanation into his decline. I would have liked to have seen the reasons behind what made him choose his downfall, how his new family reacted, and the struggle of finding someplace to live besides the simple explanation given. The process to recovery is relatively short, that is another area where I would have liked an expanded description.

Overall, Lost Boy is a simple yet thought provoking book to read. Anyone who is particularly into theological aspects should pick this book up. The insight it gave, although brief, did provide a realistic view on what life is like for a polygamist teenage boy. It was refreshing to read about compared to other novels that deal with a woman’s perspective.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short {Book Review}

“A Day Late and A Dollar Short” is a book that resonated with me quite well. I did not expect to like the book as much as I did the movie. I saw the movie first, so I had my opinions already formed on the characters. The book gave more of an insight into why the characters react a certain way and come with their reservations. Each one of the siblings feels their own sort of resentment towards their mother and each other. I believe that is something that most of us can relate to, whether through experience or secondhand. We all have our qualms with family. Due to past circumstances, familial relationships tend to become strained leading to a cast away effect. No one wants to take blame for their actions or accept apologies that come off as half-hearted. Whether you have a tight knit bond or haven’t made contact in years, this book will leave you feeling. You may come out of it with a sense of desire to reach out. In turn, you may want to throw it across the room because the truth hurts. Whichever you come out with, “A Day Late and A Dollar Short” provides a peek into a typical African American, dysfunctional family that is filled with raw emotion.

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover {Review}

The plot to Hopeless is somewhat overdone. This same scenario has happened in almost every new adult novel. With that said, my attention wasn’t exactly captured by the story. Sure, it was heartfelt at times. But, for the most part, it was a little silly with the way the characters acted. What kept me from tossing out this book (metaphorically as it’s a library book) was the fact that I was admittedly entertained by Holder’s creeper ways.


The first time Sky catches Holder’s eyes is anything but romantic. In fact, in normal situations it would be the precursor to a suspense or thriller novel. Girl meets boy at grocery story. Boy intrigues girl. Boy follows girl out to the car and asks for her name. Instead of accepting that it isn’t the person he’s looking for, boy gets mad and throws a hissy fit. See? Far from romantic. Sky drives away paranoid yet still smitten by the guy and his smoldering looks. Like come on! That should be a major indicator that he is psychotic and to stay away. If this was real life, the cops would have been called because I would fear being taken or killed. Not Sky.


She spends all her time thinking about this creeper she doesn’t even know. It consumes her thoughts so much that she must go for a run to clear her mind. And who’s house does she almost faint in front of? If you guessed Holder, you are correct! From this point on they start spending almost every day with each other. One thing is always constant, Holder’s outbursts of anger. He either ends up walking away or punching lockers. His temper worried me to the point where I feared for Sky. Did she think about the consequences? Nope. Sky remained very naïve towards things.


The main plot with Sky’s reason for memory lapses is incredibly sad. I did feel for what happened to her. It gave her character a good backstory. However, I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t need trigger warnings but for those that do: this book does contain references to incest and child molestation. The ending of the book did deal heavily with hard subject matter. I felt that it was dealt with too rushed and in a “fluffy” way. In the ending scenes with Karen (Sky’s stepmom), it is particularly rushed. I would have liked there to be a more realistic grasp on how Sky dealt with her situation. She did not have enough time to go through emotions. Most of it was centered on Holder’s reactions and his guiding her to feel a certain way. There was no allowing her to process it by herself, unless you count half a night. That took away from the plot. Maybe I was a little too hard on the book as I was expecting something completely fluffy.


Can we just please come up with different plotlines for NA books?

Roses by Leila Meacham {Review}

Let me preface this by saying that I had never read a historical novel before. Not ever. All the required reading in high school was passed up by me. I was never interested in historical books as I thought them to be boring. Roses may have opened me up to an entire new genre. I picked this book up at the library on a whim. It was meant to offset my checking out of crime books. The cover captivated me with its use of rose petals surrounding the title and a rather elegant font. There is a quote on the cover comparing it to Gone with the Wind. It just so happens that I am obsessed with Gone with the Wind. I was sold hook, line, and sinker.

Characters: Mary Toliver                          Miles Toliver                   Rachel Toliver     

             

                  Amos Hines

                Percy Warwick                            Ollie DuMont                  Matthew Warwick

The novel starts off with an elderly Mary Toliver delivering Amos Hines revisions to her will. Right off the bat with disagreements being mentioned about the revisions, you know that there is going to be drama. It is vague as to what the revisions are. Mary holds some stipulations about her decision but concludes that it is for the best. However, she wishes to tell her great-niece about the history prior to her death. Before she can do that, Mary is lead down a path of memories and heartache.

The relationship between the characters is fluid and runs smoothly. With all the consequences of Mary’s decisions, you can feel the anguish each of the characters go through. I developed a strong connection for each of them, especially Percy. He makes some rough choices of his own that make you want to grab him and shake some sense into him. Oh gosh, Percy and his love for Mary. That was something else.

I feared for Rachel and how the will would affect her life. As I saw it unfold, I wanted to take her in my arms and shake some sense into her. I know why she felt the way she did and don’t blame her for it. Just the way Rachel went about it was very frustrating. Then again, she is related to Mary. Tolivers and stubbornness go hand in hand.

Location: Howbutker, Texas (various time periods)

Even though the years changed, the location remained the same. The way it was described in the book, I had a clear vision of what I believed the town to look like. I transported myself there a few times whilst reading it. Coming from a Texas town myself, I found the location to be highly realistic. The characters also meshed well with the location.

I give this book 5/5 stars. A more in-depth review will be going up on my YouTube channel soon.

#FridayReads •may 31, 2013•

The Fault in Our Stars Review pt. 2

General: I will admit that I was a bit iffy upon reading this book. I tend to not read books that have been hyped up in fear that they won't meet my expectations. Let me just say that TFiOS met my expectations. It fell a few notes short of surpassing them.

I'm not a crier when it comes to books. But, I skimmed a few pages and found out what happened in the end. Even with my knowing, I was still moved to the point of tears and goosebumps. This is one book I would definitely recommend. The characters don't let their illness define them. They, instead, defy it with their courage, knowledge, and keeping the light in their lives. John Green has earned himself a new fan. I can't wait to read his other works.

Characters: I loved the bond that Hazel shared with Augustus. You could feel the genuine love between them. It wasn't like the typical puppy love that most teenagers have. This was the real deal kind of love. The one where you hope and pray that everything goes right when you know that it's star-crossed. The relationship between them was right off the bat amazing. Their interactions with one another was real. The only thing that got to me was the way they spoke, so highly intellectual. Then, I thought about it. The reason they speak with such intellect and knowledge is because they aren't normal. Their lives have caused them to mature in a way that has shaped them into a new form. They've had to grow up way too fast to understand what is going on with and around them. 

Story: As Hazel had said about An Imperial Affliction, this is not "another cancer story". I mean technically, it is. But, if we're getting past the technicalities, it isn't. What makes it different than all the other books about an illness or disease is the way they overcome it. Yes, if you've read TFiOS, you know that I don't mean it literally. It's the way they overcome cancer by defying it. Sure, these kids know they have this illness that can potentially end their lives sooner than most. But, they take it with such courage and bravery. They continue living their lives as normal kids, not once succumbing to the whole "poor me" thing. Even when it seems like death may be knocking at their door, they greet Him and are ready to go. It takes a certain kind of courage, that most people will never have, to do that.

The Fault in Our Stars Book Review