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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
A great read. Tinti brings us into the unusual lives of Samuel Hawley and his teen daughter Louise (Loo). Switching back and forth between the present day, and flashbacks to Samuel's previous adventures, keeps up a strong momentum throughout the book. I loved the juxtaposition between Hawley's violent past and Loo's coming of age story.
I would recommend this to both adults and older teens, who would not be too put off by graphic depictions of violence. And people who like to read books set in Massachusetts (Like me!).
Full Disclosure: I was provided an ARC of this novel by Dial Press/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I would recommend this to both adults and older teens, who would not be too put off by graphic depictions of violence. And people who like to read books set in Massachusetts (Like me!).
Full Disclosure: I was provided an ARC of this novel by Dial Press/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It is well written with great character development. I like the format. Loo is an interesting character, although if she were real I'd have sone big concerns about her potentially being a sociopath. I like some of the side characters more than the main two. It is a complex and cleverly woven story. The only negative for me was just that i am not a fan of gratuitous violence.
On my first try, I put this down but on my second try I found it surprising and innovative. I’m glad I gave it a second look.
Era da tanto che non leggevo un libro così bello. La scelta di alternare i capitoli tra Samuel e Loo è azzeccatissima, mantiene il lettore attento e curioso. Non riuscivo a smettere di leggere. Personalmente amo molto personaggi di questo genere, né buoni né cattivi, ambigui nelle loro azioni e nella loro morale che ti portano a chiedere "è giusto stare dalla sua parte?". Forse non adatto a tutti proprio per questo dualismo. Un libro davvero ben scritto con un finale che ho trovato molto soddisfacente.
An engrossing story of a man and his daughter who have started a new life in a seaside town after being on the run for years. It goes back in time as we learn about each of the bullets that he has been hit by and how their new life unfolds. Examines pain, our history, the messes we create and how loss gives birth to new life.
4,5/5
Hawley is a ruthless criminal, but now he drives through the US with his daughter, Loo, changing cities and homes every week. One day, though, they settle in Olympus, Loo's mother hometown. Maybe, it is the start of something new for them both, a chance at a "normal" life.
I love how Hawley is "a bad guy" but I cared so much for him and Loo, I was afraid he might die at every chapter. He does awful things, and yet you feel like he doesn't know why he does them, he has this touching melancholy about him and this numbness, this mysterious personality which makes me very complex and lovable at the same time. You can tell there's so much love in him but this criminal side of him is also here, pushing through. We don't know much about his youth or what made him this way but that's actually part of the story. And Loo. She's so precious omg.
Weirdly, I grew fond of all of them, even when they did immoral things because you can see that they were good people.
Hawley is a ruthless criminal, but now he drives through the US with his daughter, Loo, changing cities and homes every week. One day, though, they settle in Olympus, Loo's mother hometown. Maybe, it is the start of something new for them both, a chance at a "normal" life.
I love how Hawley is "a bad guy" but I cared so much for him and Loo, I was afraid he might die at every chapter. He does awful things, and yet you feel like he doesn't know why he does them, he has this touching melancholy about him and this numbness, this mysterious personality which makes me very complex and lovable at the same time. You can tell there's so much love in him but this criminal side of him is also here, pushing through. We don't know much about his youth or what made him this way but that's actually part of the story. And Loo. She's so precious omg.
Weirdly, I grew fond of all of them, even when they did immoral things because you can see that they were good people.
Loved this. I loved this tale of how the past is so intertwined in the past. I couldn’t put it down. But now that it’s done, I’m off to find more books by this author!
You can find all my reviews on www.itsbooktalk.com
I've always been drawn to coming-of-age stories. The problem has been finding ones that appeal to me in terms of not just the character who's coming-of-age, but also the setting, time period, and minor characters all needing to "click" for me as well. The Last Child by John Hart has always been my go to coming-of-age favorite and recently I've added A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum to that very short list. Now, I'll be adding The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley ....my list is growing!!
Twelve Lives is, at its core, a novel filled with suspense but, fear not, there's also a mystery for all of us die hard mystery lovers. To start, we meet Samuel, father to Loo and husband of Lily who died many years earlier. Her death had been ruled accidental but as I got further into the story, I began to wonder whether that was true. There are many reasons this question entered my mind, the biggest being Samuel's past. Through chapters alternating between past and present we get to know Samuel, starting around age 20 when he chooses to start down a path of criminality which leads to his first "bullet," that is, the first of TWELVE times he's shot. The chapters follow his life through places like Wyoming, Alaska, The Midwest, and the desert, to the coast of Massachusetts where he and Loo eventually decide to stay and make a home.
These "bullet" chapters alternate with present day ones in which we get to know Loo, Hawley, Mabel (Lily's mom) and many more of the unique characters living in the coastal fishing community. I'm going to be honest, some of the "bullet" chapters became a little monotonous and I found myself rushing to get through them to return back to the present which were my favorite parts of the book. I LOVED reading about Loo and being privy to all of her firsts...1st time shooting guns, 1st love, 1st time driving (illegally of course)...as well as her relationship with Hawley who seemed to hold her at arm's length just a little too much as his fierce desire to protect her from his past was always at the forefront of his mind- it really occupied his thoughts and drove everything he did. I could really understand this because in his (criminal) past he left behind dead bodies, bridges burned, and many enemies made...he knew that one day it would all catch up with him. That's what I meant by suspense and the author built it brilliantly!
The more I write, the more I'm thinking this is actually a harder book to review than I initially thought because there's SO much I could talk about but in the interest of keeping this fairly short, I'll just point out a few final reasons I really loved this book:
Pace - The author has crafted such a well-paced novel that I quickly became immersed in the story from beginning to end
Multidimensional, Flawed Characters - I'm not exactly sure how she created such vivid, nuanced characters, possibly it was her use of exquisitely fine tuned language, but the people in this story were REAL and alive to me
Themes - I loved how she examined the fluidity of time...wishing it could be turned back in Hawley's case but also exploring how he and Loo both discover it actually marches on no matter how much they wished to change or stop it
ManySetting - Loved it!! Small town coastal fishing community...I could picture it perfectly
If you like small town coming-of-age literary novels filled with mystery and suspense, I think you'll really enjoy this read!
I've always been drawn to coming-of-age stories. The problem has been finding ones that appeal to me in terms of not just the character who's coming-of-age, but also the setting, time period, and minor characters all needing to "click" for me as well. The Last Child by John Hart has always been my go to coming-of-age favorite and recently I've added A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum to that very short list. Now, I'll be adding The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley ....my list is growing!!
Twelve Lives is, at its core, a novel filled with suspense but, fear not, there's also a mystery for all of us die hard mystery lovers. To start, we meet Samuel, father to Loo and husband of Lily who died many years earlier. Her death had been ruled accidental but as I got further into the story, I began to wonder whether that was true. There are many reasons this question entered my mind, the biggest being Samuel's past. Through chapters alternating between past and present we get to know Samuel, starting around age 20 when he chooses to start down a path of criminality which leads to his first "bullet," that is, the first of TWELVE times he's shot. The chapters follow his life through places like Wyoming, Alaska, The Midwest, and the desert, to the coast of Massachusetts where he and Loo eventually decide to stay and make a home.
These "bullet" chapters alternate with present day ones in which we get to know Loo, Hawley, Mabel (Lily's mom) and many more of the unique characters living in the coastal fishing community. I'm going to be honest, some of the "bullet" chapters became a little monotonous and I found myself rushing to get through them to return back to the present which were my favorite parts of the book. I LOVED reading about Loo and being privy to all of her firsts...1st time shooting guns, 1st love, 1st time driving (illegally of course)...as well as her relationship with Hawley who seemed to hold her at arm's length just a little too much as his fierce desire to protect her from his past was always at the forefront of his mind- it really occupied his thoughts and drove everything he did. I could really understand this because in his (criminal) past he left behind dead bodies, bridges burned, and many enemies made...he knew that one day it would all catch up with him. That's what I meant by suspense and the author built it brilliantly!
The more I write, the more I'm thinking this is actually a harder book to review than I initially thought because there's SO much I could talk about but in the interest of keeping this fairly short, I'll just point out a few final reasons I really loved this book:
Pace - The author has crafted such a well-paced novel that I quickly became immersed in the story from beginning to end
Multidimensional, Flawed Characters - I'm not exactly sure how she created such vivid, nuanced characters, possibly it was her use of exquisitely fine tuned language, but the people in this story were REAL and alive to me
Themes - I loved how she examined the fluidity of time...wishing it could be turned back in Hawley's case but also exploring how he and Loo both discover it actually marches on no matter how much they wished to change or stop it
ManySetting - Loved it!! Small town coastal fishing community...I could picture it perfectly
If you like small town coming-of-age literary novels filled with mystery and suspense, I think you'll really enjoy this read!