The first chapter was awesome. It had a unique voice, and a perfect blend of world-building vs. character development set-up.
I spent the rest of the book waiting for it to live up to its first chapter.
The fact is that nothing of much note actually occurs in this book, something that may put off a lot of its intended YA audience. The part-time narrator, Cullen, spends his pages slipping into this off-putting third-person narration that attempts to be cute or quirky but instead doesn't add anything to character or plot development. Then, in alternating chapters, a third-person narrator--not Cullen's wannabe-pretentious-writer voice-in-his-head--describes the experiences of Benton Sage, a young man doing ministry work in Africa. It's not clear how these two storylines are related until the very end, when they come together in such a moment of coincidence that I was left perplexed as to what the POINT was.
The point, by the way, can be pretty much summed up in this sentence that appears in the last few pages:
"...life has no meaning, it only has whatever meaning each of us puts on our own life."
I suppose that was meant to be profound, and the novel to be a kind of 21st-century quasi-philosophical fable...but no. I was unimpressed, and unmoved, by this book's attempt at profundity, when it was surprisingly, disappointingly derivative.
I spent the rest of the book waiting for it to live up to its first chapter.
The fact is that nothing of much note actually occurs in this book, something that may put off a lot of its intended YA audience. The part-time narrator, Cullen, spends his pages slipping into this off-putting third-person narration that attempts to be cute or quirky but instead doesn't add anything to character or plot development. Then, in alternating chapters, a third-person narrator--not Cullen's wannabe-pretentious-writer voice-in-his-head--describes the experiences of Benton Sage, a young man doing ministry work in Africa. It's not clear how these two storylines are related until the very end, when they come together in such a moment of coincidence that I was left perplexed as to what the POINT was.
The point, by the way, can be pretty much summed up in this sentence that appears in the last few pages:
"...life has no meaning, it only has whatever meaning each of us puts on our own life."
I suppose that was meant to be profound, and the novel to be a kind of 21st-century quasi-philosophical fable...but no. I was unimpressed, and unmoved, by this book's attempt at profundity, when it was surprisingly, disappointingly derivative.
Sort of a sleeper. At first, there appear to be two unrelated story lines in alternating chapters. But when the story line in the odd-numbered chapters starts to get bogged down, the story line in the even-numbered chapters starts to pick up and connects the two story lines, with a final chapter that brings both story lines together.
Cullen Witter is a high school senior in the small town of Lily, Ak. Like most small towns in our country, nothing much happens there - until it does. Cullen's cousin overdoses, the town's people search for an extinct woodpecker supposedly seen by a visitor and his brother vanishes. Cullen has an average life and parents but a not-so-average younger brother named Gabriel, who does his own thing. While both are good students Cullen thinks his brother is a genius. He himself just wants to be accepted.
Like most teenagers trying to find himself, he is interested in girls but the disappearance of his brother overshadows all. Consumed by grief, his senior year becomes unimportant. Not studies. Not college entrance. Not even friends except for Lucas, his bestie. Even his parents are lost. Father posts flyers and sets up a web site and mother is so distraught she is nearing mental breakdown.
While Cullen is the chief narrator of his story when another story emerges about a young man in Africa who has become discouraged with his religious mission. Distributing food with prayer to save people is just not enough. Continuing the book one finds the two merging in an unexpected way. And, of course, will Gabriel be found or come home? Check out this engaging read for yourself. I liked it!
Like most teenagers trying to find himself, he is interested in girls but the disappearance of his brother overshadows all. Consumed by grief, his senior year becomes unimportant. Not studies. Not college entrance. Not even friends except for Lucas, his bestie. Even his parents are lost. Father posts flyers and sets up a web site and mother is so distraught she is nearing mental breakdown.
While Cullen is the chief narrator of his story when another story emerges about a young man in Africa who has become discouraged with his religious mission. Distributing food with prayer to save people is just not enough. Continuing the book one finds the two merging in an unexpected way. And, of course, will Gabriel be found or come home? Check out this engaging read for yourself. I liked it!
Enjoyed the book. Couldn't use it at my conservative school because of sexual references.
