This is the first book I’ve read by Gene Gant and I am not disappointed at all. Lucky Linus is one good book that I’ll probably recommend to all of my friends because it speaks volume despite the simple storytelling. I loved that the drama was heavy, and very much so (realistically) for a 14-year-old boy yet the writing isn’t too complex.
Fourteen-year-old Linus Lightman has bounced through the foster care system since he was six-years-old when he was taken away from her neglectful mother. With his newest foster family, the Nelsons, Linus didn’t really want to get too close because he’s very much sure that they will let him go once they found out he’s gay. Building a friendship online with Kevin Mapleton, young love blossoms between them until a sex scandal involving the two was discovered that may very well cost Linus’s new home and sense of belonging.
You just got to love how the author delivered the story in such a way that is more telling than showing. I think the style was very apt with the age of our main protagonist Linus. Here, we watch Linus as he goes with the flow of the system with a foremost aspiration of getting adopted – finally belonging. There is a line that cause me much a bit of heartache when Linus was narrating it.
“The chances of finding forever parents shrank as foster kids got older, especially for those of color or with disabilities.”
The kid just wanted to belong and I feel like giving him a warm hug and adopting him myself. So obviously, there’s a lot of heartbreaking details about our little Linus but perhaps, it could only get better in time…
When the storm passes and Linus thought that it’s the end for him, we’re gifted something that is so beautiful. In a rather hopeful tale albeit heartbreaking at the beginning – we see Linus getting his own personal rainbow. Despite everything that he went through his young life, Linus discovered how strong he was more than he could hope for to be… Linus is lucky to finally be granted his wish and readers will be lucky to be on a journey with him.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Expected publication: July 23rd 2015 by Harmony Ink Press
About The Author
I’m Tennessean by birth, a resident of Memphis for most of my life. I tried living in a few northern cities after graduating from college, but I couldn’t take the brutal winters, and I missed good ol’ southern barbecue. Now I make my home on a country lane outside of Memphis. When I’m not reading, working out, watching movies or spending time with family and friends, you can find me tapping away at my computer.
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