Gut-Wrenching Family Drama

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I put off reading The Unwilling because I knew this would be a gut-wrenching and hard-hitting read, and I was right. Once I started the first chapter I was immediately captivated by the book’s many intense emotions. The story centers around the French family, a good southern family of the 1960s, shattered by the Vietnam war, losing one son in battle and another to the war’s dark side. Hart has created the most fascinating characters, and I can’t get them out of my mind.

The father, Bill French, a police officer in the town, has carried his family’s burden for a long time, loves both of his surviving sons, and tries to keep the peace with his wife while juggling his job duties.

The mother, Gabrielle, was a woman I wanted to reach through the book and slap upside her head. Yes, she deserved her grief for losing one twin son in the war, but she made it clear he was her favorite, and she wished his twin, Jason, had died instead. What mother does that? She smothers her youngest son and stifles his life to keep him protected. She was a character I felt should have been fleshed out better to understand her.

Jason, the surviving twin, returned from nearly three tours of service in the war a heroin addict, with deep secrets and a profound hurt he refuses to show his family. He ended up in prison for drugs, and his mother washed her hands of him without even trying to understand his pain.

Gibby, the youngest son, has been the good boy, going along with what his mother needs all his high school years, but with his brother’s return from prison, he needs to break free and make his own decisions. This is Gibby’s story, and it is fascinating to listen to what is in his head.

Chance, Gibby’s best friend, presents himself as always being happy-go-lucky but is suffering from fear and a lack of self-confidence. It’s so amazing to watch him come into himself as well.

There is also Becky, the girl Gibby has fantasized about for years, who lives on the poor side of town, but she is a powerhouse and helps Gibby when he decides to prove his brother’s innocence in a recent murder.

And these are just the good guys. There are plenty of bad guys to make this story a nail-biting thriller. This is a story of family, the good and the bad, and it was so compelling I could not put it down. I gave it four stars. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it for my honest opinion. This was my first John Hart novel, but it won’t be my last!