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eslx32's review against another edition
2.0
Felt the book was full of stereotypes both racial and gender. I don’t understand the high ratings. Couldn’t finish this one. Author can’t seem to capture female characters
pam2375's review against another edition
1.0
I have to start by saying that I could not even finish this one. I started the book on July 24 and today is August 6 and I was only able to get through 175 of 350 pages.
I simply did not care about ANY of the charaacters. There is a missing 12 year old girl, her twin brother, her mother who hooked up with the town sleaze ball and is now hooked on pain killers, father who left town, the detective, the twin brother's friend...and so on and so on and son. None of them were likeable or believeable.
I did like that the chapters were short and for a short time I felt like I was making some progress.
I can't recommend this for anyone.
I simply did not care about ANY of the charaacters. There is a missing 12 year old girl, her twin brother, her mother who hooked up with the town sleaze ball and is now hooked on pain killers, father who left town, the detective, the twin brother's friend...and so on and so on and son. None of them were likeable or believeable.
I did like that the chapters were short and for a short time I felt like I was making some progress.
I can't recommend this for anyone.
teddd22's review against another edition
5.0
I am usually pretty good at predicting the ending of books, but this one kept me on my toes. I didn't see the ending until a was reading it and I still could not believe it. It did not take me long to fall in love with the story and to feel sad and angry for the little boy, Johnny Merrimon. The whole book was a roller coaster of emotions and I highly recommend it!
mysterymom40's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Bullying, Gore, Child death, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Ableism, and Vomit
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audiobook performed by Scott Sowers
Johnny Merrimon is a troubled young man. At thirteen he is shouldering far more responsibility and guilt than any child his age should carry. His twin sister disappeared a year ago, his father has left the family, his mother is lost in a fog of drugs, and his father’s former boss has insinuated himself into their home. Detective Clyde Hunt hasn’t given up searching, but he’s increasingly concerned for Johnny and his mother. Johnny won’t trust anyone – except his best friend Jack, who accompanies him on his search for the truth.
What a ride! Plenty of twists and turns in the plot. I was sure I had it figured out (and, in fact, I did guess one of the bad guys), but I was still surprised by several events. Hart took a crooked path with many side trips and more than a few dead ends. Unfortunately I felt he was repetitive – how many times do I need a discussion between Johnny and Jack about whether Jack will succumb to his fears or stick by his friend to help him search. Ditto repeated descriptions of Hunt’s speeding through town to get to his next locale. I also wasn’t sure that much of the story regarding Levi Freemantle was necessary to the main plot. A good editor might have trimmed this by a hundred pages without losing any of the momentum or most of the plot twists.
I loved Johnny. He was intelligent, tenacious, courageous and sensitive. If his success at figuring things out was a little unbelievable, I’m willing to forgive Hart for that. This is a child grasping at straws and truly left to his own devices to make sense of what has happened to his family and to try to put it back together. I couldn’t help but cheer him on.
Scott Sowers does a fine job reading the audio version. He has good pacing and was able to sufficiently differentiate most of the characters. Occasionally, when two similar characters (Jack and Johnny, or Hunt and Yoakum) were in conversation it was a little difficult to tell who was speaking, but that was really minor.
Johnny Merrimon is a troubled young man. At thirteen he is shouldering far more responsibility and guilt than any child his age should carry. His twin sister disappeared a year ago, his father has left the family, his mother is lost in a fog of drugs, and his father’s former boss has insinuated himself into their home. Detective Clyde Hunt hasn’t given up searching, but he’s increasingly concerned for Johnny and his mother. Johnny won’t trust anyone – except his best friend Jack, who accompanies him on his search for the truth.
What a ride! Plenty of twists and turns in the plot. I was sure I had it figured out (and, in fact, I did guess one of the bad guys), but I was still surprised by several events. Hart took a crooked path with many side trips and more than a few dead ends. Unfortunately I felt he was repetitive – how many times do I need a discussion between Johnny and Jack about whether Jack will succumb to his fears or stick by his friend to help him search. Ditto repeated descriptions of Hunt’s speeding through town to get to his next locale. I also wasn’t sure that much of the story regarding Levi Freemantle was necessary to the main plot. A good editor might have trimmed this by a hundred pages without losing any of the momentum or most of the plot twists.
I loved Johnny. He was intelligent, tenacious, courageous and sensitive. If his success at figuring things out was a little unbelievable, I’m willing to forgive Hart for that. This is a child grasping at straws and truly left to his own devices to make sense of what has happened to his family and to try to put it back together. I couldn’t help but cheer him on.
Scott Sowers does a fine job reading the audio version. He has good pacing and was able to sufficiently differentiate most of the characters. Occasionally, when two similar characters (Jack and Johnny, or Hunt and Yoakum) were in conversation it was a little difficult to tell who was speaking, but that was really minor.
dewey_scrapper's review against another edition
4.0
Johnny Merrimon’s twin sister has been missing for a year. Johnny is still searching for her even though he believes that everyone else has given up. His father left shortly after the disappearance, his mother’s boyfriend keeps her drugged and abuses her, but Johnny won’t give up hope. After another girl goes missing, a man tells Johnny the words he’s been waiting to hear for a year: “I found her.” Is the man talking about the recent disappearance, or about Johnny’s twin sister? Johnny is convinced the man has found his sister, and no one can tell him otherwise. His search becomes more desperate after the second girl goes missing, and what Johnny finds is not what he expected.
This book sucked me in immediately. 13-year-old Johnny Merrimon is a strong character who struggles to keep it together while searching for his twin sister. You can feel the tension and Johnny’s despair throughout the book. There were many twists I wasn’t expecting. This is the first book by John Hart that I’ve read, and I will be reading more.
This book sucked me in immediately. 13-year-old Johnny Merrimon is a strong character who struggles to keep it together while searching for his twin sister. You can feel the tension and Johnny’s despair throughout the book. There were many twists I wasn’t expecting. This is the first book by John Hart that I’ve read, and I will be reading more.
rachellynndanny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
kermitcaroline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0