Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

(I am fortunate to have received an ARC of this book.) Lucas is a very lonely boy in his mid-teens. He narrates this story as an older adult, and we read his narrations from the past to the present and back again, until the two timelines merge. It’s a very effective dance to keep the reader curious and invested to see what what will happen and how. His story begins by wanting to escape from a difficult home life. We find out his parents’ marriage is troubled, his brother is in Vietnam, his best friend is extremely depressed, and his only escape is running with two dogs in the woods—dogs which don’t even belong to him. The story of how he meets the dogs’ owner and his relationship with her, an older woman named Zoe, starts us on our journey with Lucas. The book is unflinching in its facing squarely the themes of addiction, suicide, loneliness, the overt and hidden consequences of war. And the synchronicity of seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions which change lives for generations. I appreciate the author’s ability to keep it real: no-one is completely bad or completely good; we never know the whole story; all are capable of redemption but never perfection. And her ability to keep us surprised even until the very end. This book will appeal to a young-adult reader and to any age adult. I highly recommend it!