#76 - The Sea is my Brother by Jack Kerouac

I like Kerouac but I didn't love this book.  I was completely neutral on this story after my initial excitement over new discoveries of classic literature wore off.

It is now obvious that this was Jack's first crack at writing a novel. While the prose was exquisitely written, it was incredibly rambling.  I suppose that would be indicative of the thoughts of the first time sailor, Everheart but the more he rambled on, the more I tuned him out and DEFINITELY the less I liked him.

Contrasting Bill Everhart was Wesley Martin, the veteran Merchant Marine who talks Bill into this mission.  I enjoyed his story MUCH more.  What you see is what you get with Wesley and I enjoyed his broken road.  Unfortunately he gets very low billing in the character development arena.

While you'd think that this book took place at sea, only in the last chapter did the boat take sail. I admire this as a first novel, and a part of the Kerouac canon, but I don't love it as a stand alone novel.

Goodreads rating: 3 stars
In progress: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
On Deck: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

#75 - Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

I can't believe I forgot to blog this book.  Bad blogger - bad bad blogger!

BIG thank you to Posse girl Lindsey for the borrow! Her recommendations are never off the mark so I knew that I would love it. And I did.  There were parts of this book that are truly disturbing so be warned before you pick it up.  Tartellin formulated all of the characters to work together and, unlike some books that fail to have a different enough voice when it switches their first person narrators.

Here's the deal.  (and this paragraph is hard to construct without giving away the MAJOR plot point in the first chapter.) But I HATED  the plot twist that happens just after the first chapter. I felt like "of course that's what's going to happen because that's always what happened."

What drew me back in is how everyone dealt with the consequences.  I found myself thinking that - if my sons ever developed a strange condition or disease, that I would want to treat them in  a similar way that Max's parents treated him.  Letting him make his own decisions when he is old enough instead of making the decisions for him and have him resent me later.  It was a genius plan in thought but in execution they skipped an important step in communication. Not talking about a problem doesn't make it go away.

I did ADORE Sylvie and her actions, reactions and attitude. She made the perfect relationship partner for poor Max as he was going through the craziest time of his life.

It may have taken me a long time to finish but that was no reflection on the book itself - it was more about having the time to devote to it.  This book is definitely a "to read" to bump up to the top of your list.

Goodreads rating 5 stars
In Progress: Insurgent by Veronica Roth