Review: Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse

Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pete McLean is a young man living in Glory, Alabama during the mid 60's. After school each day and all summer long he helps his grandfather and his father work the farm they own. In his family, black and white work along together to get the job done. When Pete's father dies suddenly and tragically, Pete quickly befriends Isaac who was his dad's right hand man. Isaac helps Pete through his grief my taking him away from the farm to go fishing or to grab a bite to eat. When Isaac goes missing without a trace, Pete won't rest until he finds him. Over four years we hear Pete's story and the journey to find his friend. He will grow up a lot over that time and his life will change dramatically.

Thank you to NetGalley and Revell Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I don't know if Valerie Fraser Luesse has written any other books, but I want to read them. Watching Pete grow into a respectable young man that his whole community admires is what makes this book so great. When you think about the South, especially at this time in our history, it's amazing to me so see how well most of the people in this story treat them. They treat them like members of their family. Allowing the maid to drive the car and put her groceries on your tab, rebuilding homes and churches and never questioning anything.

I really enjoyed this book. It is important even in today's society to learn how to get along with all people no matter their race or gender. You can feel the emotions of each character in this book and each of them have quite strong personalities.

Pete--even though he is a young man, he is strong in his beliefs and his convictions.
Daddy Ballard--even though he is one of the richest men in town, he doesn't brag or boast about all he does for the community.
Lila--Through her grief, she is able to still raise her son to be the man his father would be proud of.
Isaac--his story is brief, but he is a strong man who cares for those around him even if they aren't his family.

I highly recommend this book.

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Review--Local Girls by Caroline Zancan

Three friends walk into their favorite dive bar, The Shamrock, and are shocked to see their favorite actor, Sam Decker there.  When he joins their table and starts buying drinks, the conversation turns to each others pasts and how their lives got to be  at the point they are.  This night will change everyone's lives forever.

From the beginning of the book, we know that someone is going to die.  And now I am just trying to figure out the when and how.  The book flips between present day and the past when the group of three girls used to be a foursome.

Something about this book that I liked is that you get to see how the girl get to this point in their life.  I liked the flashbacks and it transported me back to my high school days.  I could see me and my friends in this same situation although my friends and I were not quite as wild as these girls.

One part that really struck me was a reference to Virginia Woolf and her suicide note.  In the note she says, "I don't think any two people could have been happier than we have been."  The character reading this mentions that this phrase is said twice in her short suicide note.  I find it ironic that the author mentions a phrase twice in this book, "Only boring people get bored."  I think deep down these girls were bored, but used the antics they pulled help to add some excitement to their lives.  Another interesting thing about this book, is that we are never really introduced to the narrator.  I can only recall her name being mentioned twice in the book.

**I received an uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads Giveaways and this review is based on that copy.**