Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse (book review)

-
"Missing Isaac" by Valerie Fraser Luesse was not what I expected. I wasn't in the mood for a love story, so I went with a story about a boy whose friend disappears. I know this story is about race as the back cover reads, "Though their worlds are as different as black and white, friendship knows no color." I know that it's set in Alabama in the 60s - not a great time for interracial friendships in which one party goes missing.
image via Amazon.com
The voice in this book is fabulous. You really get the sense of who Pete McLean is, who Isaac is/was. The characters are not perfect characters; they have flaws and are seemingly as real as flesh and blood people. You see their inner demons working their way to the surface, especially when dealing with prejudices (and not just racial ones!).

While I wasn't in the mood for a love story, Luesse snuck it in on me (apparently I didn't read the back cover carefully enough to read "...a girl who will change his life")! And it was beautiful. Natural, not forced. Again, the voice(s) that carry this story is just imperfectly perfect.

I don't want to give away the plot because it's so good; just one of those books that sticks with you. That you tell your friends about. That you pass on and tell them to pass on because it's beautifully written. Go buy "Missing Isaac."

Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. All opinions are my own and may differ from others' opinions. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MOB Society: Bragging on Boys

-
Image
Like my friend Erin shared in her "bragging" post, I don't necessarily want to "brag" about my boys but I am overjoyed at some of their accomplishments recently! So I will share with you! Moose is doing wonderfully at school. We moved him to the afternoon classroom and his teacher said that his behavior problems that they saw in the morning have virtually disappeared. Great! Twice last week (once at school and once at Sunday School) his teachers told me that he shared with someone. What a sigh of relief that one is; sharing is so hard but to know that what I'm implementing at home is working (even the itsy bitsiest bit!) is a relief.  I've noticed that baby toys are most enjoyed by the older crowd. Moose is also reading! I got the sight word list that kindergarteners start off with from his teacher - he read them all for me this morning. I bought a Chuggington book for him on their last book order - he read it by himself after only having it read
Read more

Greater (movie review)

-
Image
Sports movies are some of my favorite ones; even better if they are underdog stories! "Greater" is just that - a true underdog story about Brandon Bulsworth who could be called the greatest walk-on in the history of college football. The movie follows Bulsworth from the time he's a kid. His mother is raising he and his brother (who is quite a bit older; old enough to be mistaken for his dad, laughably). His brother gives him a kick in the pants when Brandon claims he wants to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Brandon was a heavy kid so no one really thought it would happen. However, Brandon worked as hard as he could and made it. Walked on the team and caught the attention of his coach who put some amazing work into this kid to help him become better. I love when coaches look at the heart of a player more than ability. This really is an amazing story, an amazing movie - full of inspiration and encouragement. Things that seem impossible become possible. The rea
Read more

something

-
Big A is forever telling me to not say certain things on the road. Don't call me dear. Don't gasp or shout; I'll think there's a deer. Although these are paraphrased (and he claims he's never said the first one), these are the basis for this tale. We went to the Husker game last night. Scratch that - we worked at the Husker game last night. We helped his aunt (and her church) sell backrests as a fundraiser. Big A has done this most of last year & all of this year so far. He loves it. You sell backrests until kickoff, then you watch the game, and pick up the rests after. You're there 90 minutes before game time and for about an hour or so after the game. And you sometimes get leftover food (Runzas and hotdogs and popcorn - please fine out what a Runza is for those of you who aren't from Nebraska....it's so yummy!). Anyway...we went to the game & a few of our friends helped pick up the chairs voluntarily after so (with that help plus our amazing sp
Read more