- Steve Cushman contacted me with a summary of his book, and it looked interesting.
- After reading a rather dismal family book I wanted something with a bit more hope.
- Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser
- Peace Like a River by Lief Enger
Summary from GoodReads:
In Heart With Joy, fifteen-year-old Julian Hale’s life is turned upside down when his mother suddenly moves from North Carolina to Venice, Florida under the pretense of running her parents’ motel and finishing the novel she has been working on for years. While Julian has always been closer to his mother and wants to go with her, she tells him he has to stay with his father until the end of the school year.
Six weeks after his mother leaves, Julian’s father decides to run a marathon. This surprises Julian because he has never seen his father exercise, but once he agrees to help him train the two develop the sort of close relationship they’ve never had before. Also, with the help of an elderly neighbor, Julian learns that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart. And Julian’s heart leads him to a passion for cooking and a young cashier at the local grocery store. By the end of the novel, Julian is forced to choose between staying with his father and going to live with his mother.
My Review (Spoiler free!):
Do you have something that fills your heart with joy? This is the ultimate question that Julian sets out to figure out while developing relationships with those around him.
This book started out with a bit of a sad story, but when I thought I had it figured out and knew which direction the story was going to head… things started to change. Steve Cushman did a beautiful job of laying out the normally commonplace things around his characters, making them feel as if they were right there… just out of reach. While reading this book I became more aware of the sounds of birds surrounding me, I noticed textures and colors as I looked out of my window and I found myself asking.. what all fills my heart with joy?
While this wasn’t a story that had me reeling in amazement, it was a story that warmed my heart, made me appreciate the relationships I have a little bit more and left me feeling content. Wrapped up in a few, short pages it gets its message across well and is worth the time investment if you are wanting something pleasant and thoughtful to read.
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