I had high hopes for this book after reading the first 2 chapters...and I was not disappointed! Hart has written a story that is action-packed, soulful, heart-wrenching, and beautiful. I never wanted to put it down.
There are so many pieces of this story, and each of them was handled beautifully...and sometimes darkly.
There's, of course, the coming of age story of Gibby French who is graduating high school during the Vietnam War, which has already taken one brother, irrevocably changed the other brother, and shattered his family. Through the story, we see Gibby grow and come into his own as he faces the fragility and imperfections of his parents, the decision of whether or not to enlist after graduation, and the decision of whether and how to help his brother escape the false charges he's facing.
Then there's Jason French's character...I wouldn't say that he grows and develops as a character, because he is who he is it seems, but his story is told to us in a way that explains his decisions, his relationship with family, and his personality so that he becomes very real to the reader - vulnerable, powerful, and misunderstood.
We see Gibby's best friend Chance take a hard look at himself and the choices he makes. We watch Detective French face the hard reality of his sons, his wife, his prejudices, and his decisions.
On top of all of these characters fighting their own demons, they're all faced with some very real, very nasty people and situations.
I thought that they way Hart portrayed all of this and the way the Vietnam War affected everyone's life and their choices was raw and real and powerful.
I loved this book as much for the story he wrote as for the picture he painted of that time in America.
This is my first book by John Hart, and it definitely won't be my last.
There are so many pieces of this story, and each of them was handled beautifully...and sometimes darkly.
There's, of course, the coming of age story of Gibby French who is graduating high school during the Vietnam War, which has already taken one brother, irrevocably changed the other brother, and shattered his family. Through the story, we see Gibby grow and come into his own as he faces the fragility and imperfections of his parents, the decision of whether or not to enlist after graduation, and the decision of whether and how to help his brother escape the false charges he's facing.
Then there's Jason French's character...I wouldn't say that he grows and develops as a character, because he is who he is it seems, but his story is told to us in a way that explains his decisions, his relationship with family, and his personality so that he becomes very real to the reader - vulnerable, powerful, and misunderstood.
We see Gibby's best friend Chance take a hard look at himself and the choices he makes. We watch Detective French face the hard reality of his sons, his wife, his prejudices, and his decisions.
On top of all of these characters fighting their own demons, they're all faced with some very real, very nasty people and situations.
I thought that they way Hart portrayed all of this and the way the Vietnam War affected everyone's life and their choices was raw and real and powerful.
I loved this book as much for the story he wrote as for the picture he painted of that time in America.
This is my first book by John Hart, and it definitely won't be my last.