Michael Morris (1) (1966–)

I received a free copy of this book through an online book blogging program. It sounded interesting - historical fiction, one of my favorite genres - though as I say often in book reviews, I usually read European historical fiction, not American, but that was why I wanted to read this - something different.

Unfortunately, the book is very slow, the pace is even slower, the characters were flat, one dimensional, & as other reviewers have written, not anyone you could even connect to.

The plot is interesting, the setting is interesting, the cover was pretty nice, but unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to get into the book, I couldn't. I skimmed over sections, hoping the pace would pick up & maybe I could get into it - and that just never happened. This was a book I never finished.… (mehr)

This book is the selection for a book group I'm in, and I was very interested in reading it since it takes place partly in Raleigh and partly in Florida, close to two places I've lived. I liked the writing, the story, the characters, and the pacing very much. The boy Brandon makes a good narrator and the reader is pulling for him all the way. The story is basically about loving grandparents concerned about a grandchild whose parent is toxic, and their desire to do right by the grandchild while realizing they may have made some mistakes with the incorrigible parent. It's a very common predicament these days, and the book is a great tribute to all those grandparents (including mine) who helped raise, and sometimes save and salvage their grandchildren. The plot with the social agencies role(s) seems quite true to life. Another reason I really like this book is that it treats church, Christian faith, and even God with respect and I think, truthfulness, without being sentimental or predictable.… (mehr)