A review by rmarten22
The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin

2.0

I had to read this book for my Book Cart Book Club which is an attempt to get Em, Ory, and I out of our reading comfort zone. This is not what I would have chosen normally and it was a trip. Overall, I thought it was a good story but a very poor execution. I haven’t read any of the author’s other books but from what I have read from reviews, this book was a disappointment. The characters were very unique and had strong personalities that developed throughout the story but we didn’t see very much background on their relationships. It was just assumed that Mik and Jimmi are already good friends but we don’t see that type of conversation or relationship. I think the book needed a stronger connection between the characters and between the characters and the reader. Immediately, I wasn’t connected to any of the characters because the book jumped immediately into the plot rather than give us a description of the character or any personality. Throughout the story, I didn’t have a clear picture of what Mik or Jimmi look like. I had a decent idea for Fatima but it was still hard to picture them. The book also struggled with basic grammar and punctuation. In the beginning, it was hard to follow and didn’t make sense. It improved as the story moved along but overall, it wasn’t strong writing. I gave this book a ⅖ because of the loss of story content. There was no clear conflict that caused the book to struggle and ultimately fail.