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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To order a copy of this which was just released in January, click the book cover below:

First Half of 2018 Readin' Plans

So far 2018 has gotten off to a great start.  I've already finished 7 books and am looking forward to reading at least two more this month and a bunch more this year.

Have you ever participated in a Read-A-Thon?  I'm not really one to do too much, but one of my favorites is taking place this weekend the 24in48 Read-A-Thon.  The goal is to read for 24 hours in a 48 hour time period.  Use the link to sign up, learn more, and earn great prizes.  This is for readers all over the world.  It begins at midnight Friday night and ends midnight Sunday.  I hope to read Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn, Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse, and After You by JoJo Moyes. 

 It would be amazing to get these all read over the weekend, but we will see.

NetGalley is a great resource for me for finding great new books.  When I first signed up I went cazy and requested every book I could and got some that were "Read Now". So I have quite a bit of catching up to do there but here are a few books I plan to read over the next 6 months from NetGalley.

Just Released this week 1/23/18







Released earlier this month 1/2/18







Releasing next week 1/30/18







Releasing 2/6/18 


Releasing 3/13/18






Releasing 3/20/18






Releasing 3/27/18






Releasing 5/15/18






Releasing 6/5/18






Releasing 7/17/18

Here are a few other books that I plan on reading the first half of the year:


This book will be free on Amazon on Valentine's Day.

Releasing 5/1/18










I'm sure there will be other books that I will read along the way, but my goal is to read all of the above books, and all close or near to their release dates.  Do you plan out your reading?  What do you have planned to read for the rest of the month, season year?  Let me know.