Fender

How far must we travel to find our way home?

Nothing could have prepared Brennan Glover for the car crash that claimed the lives of his wife and six-year-old daughter. Stricken with grief, the only things that get him through each day are breaking his sobriety and clinging to Fender—the family dog and the sole survivor of the crash.

Desperate to distance Brennan from tragedy, his two closest friends take him on the cross-country road trip they had always talked about. But what begins as an effort to mend his broken heart ends up unraveling a secret that changes everything he thought he knew about his family. Can a journey of six thousand miles lead Brennan to acceptance and new beginnings?

From finding the good in an often cruel world to learning to say goodbye to those we love most, this sophomore release from author Brent Jones is sure to leave readers longing for home, wherever that may be.

*Definitely Contains Spoilers*

Okay. So as a huge animal lover, going into this book I told myself that if the dog (Fender) died, then I don't know if I can finish it. I was wrong. Fender does die; I did finish the book. But that's thanks to Brent Jones' writing technique. Fender, the novel, is about a man who has lost everything except his beloved pet and struggles to find a way to want to keep living when his friends take him on a cross-country road trip to help him find his new beginning.

At the beginning of the novel, Brennan is a complete mess, and understandably so. His wife and daughter have just died in a car accident, an accident in which Fender, the family dog, survived. Brennan is wallowing in depression, an abundance of alcohol, and a cloud of cigarette smoke with no will to do anything. This immediately creates a connection with readers both sympathetically and empathetically. And it's when hope starts to creep into Brennen's inebriated mind that readers really push for him to find a way past this. 

Brennan is written as a very human, realistic character. He has positive and negative qualities that make him seem like an everyman type of character. These qualities are also gender neutral. I can definitely see these characteristics popping up in any person, not just men, and therefore I think the connection between readers and Brennan expands a little more. Brennan suffers from loss and the unknown. He turns to alcohol for relief and escape from reality. He's also a very caring human being. He's a dog lover who saved a stray. He's a parent who loved his child more than words. And he's reached a point where his life has become unrecognizable because he's experienced something that anyone could experience at any time: the loss of something he loved. This not only connects him to readers, but he sort of becomes representative of what readers could become. The path that we all pray our lives don't take. And that makes this book powerful, relatable, understandable, and scary. 

The plot of Fender revolves around the cross-country road trip. I agree with Jones when he says, if you've never driven across the country, you should do it. I have, a couple times. And it's different each time. It does seem to change your perspective a little bit and brings out what's important to you. It's also a great experience. However, Brennan's journey is about finding a way to start over with those he has left in his life: his two best friends and his dog. Yet, when his dog starts showing signs of being sick, the road trip shifts to a story about moving forward even when the past threatens to swallow you whole. I think readers who choose to pick up this book will gain a sense of inspiration and hope from Jones' story, but it wasn't exactly an easy read. It was a hard book to put down after I started it though. There's a sense of hope within the tragedy that kept me turning pages and I think a lot of readers will see that hope and gain a little something from the story. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Bonus: The author, Brent Jones, did actually take the road trip he writes about. He shared his photo experience on Twitter and you can view it here: Brent Jones Website! 

She Runs Away (Sheridan Hall #2)

After tragedy strikes New Jersey University's Sheridan Hall, freshman quarterback Ben Riley’s stable, normal life is turned upside down. Sidelined from playing the game he loves and on the verge of losing his scholarship, Ben wants nothing more than to escape the chaos of college and return home to rural Pennsylvania and his family.

Yet, there is something that keeps him from running. Or someone. A cute blonde he had a chance with but blew off for all the wrong reasons.

Megan Smith has secrets. Secrets that have burned her in the past. Secrets she’s unwilling to share with anyone at Sheridan Hall—especially Ben, her sexy, rough around the edges floormate who broke her heart in a matter of days after moving into Sheridan. Meg decided early on that it’s easier to live life on her own than to share her secrets and let people in.

Meg runs and Ben follows, but sooner or later the clock on their chance at love will expire. With inner demons dragging them both down, they must find a way to stop running and trust one another, or risk losing their perfectly-matched love forever.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Jessica Calla shares a contemporary college-aged romance with readers in She Runs Away, the second book in the Sheridan Hall series. I haven't read the first installment, but from the details of book two it seems that there was a shooting in a dorm at NJU and Frank, a friend of many, was killed and Ben was shot in the shoulder. This book takes place a few months later, when the students of Sheridan Hall are trying to rebuild their lives. 

Megan and Ben are the main characters of this book and share the title of first-person narrator. As they switch back and forth, readers get an inside look at what each character is thinking and feeling. 

Megan has liked Ben since she met him, but he broke her trust instantly when he dumped Megan on their first date. When Ben comes up with a sex contract, Meg believes that she can have physical intimacy without putting her heart at risk again. Of course... she is terribly mistaken. Megan's life shifts into chaotic mode when Ben starts wanting more than just sex and her presumably dead mother turns out to be alive which means her father has been lying to her. Readers will connect with Megan on her uncertainty and hesitant nature, but even readers will get a little tired of her running away all the time. Megan needs to take a chance on life, and readers will hope she can get there before it's too late. As readers watch Megan grow and open herself up, it's amazing how the negative aspects in her life seem to want to work themselves out. It's also great to witness a girl who feels so alone be supported by so many people. 

Ben is the protector of Sheridan Hall. He's seen as a hero since the shooting, but that doesn't make him feel like one. Ben wants to keep everyone safe because he blames himself for Frank's death. He especially wants to keep Megan safe and take back everything that happened on their first date - specifically the part where he blew it. Ben is a nice guy who people can depend on and trust. He's always worried about others and wondering what he could do to help. However, putting that much focus on other people has caused him to slide into a bit of a depression. He doesn't know what to do about football, he grows a beard so he can hide behind it, and he feels like giving up and going home. But then there's Megan, giving him a reason to keep trying as he tries to gain back her trust and earn her love. She makes him incredibly happy and it's enjoyable to read their battles and banter. Readers will emotionally connect with Ben based on his history with the shooting, but they'll also see that he's a kind-hearted man who is in need of some guidance. 

The plot of She Runs Away is focused on Megan and Ben's relationship. However, there are a few side plots that also move the story forward. Other character relationships show up and bring a little drama with them, like Juliet and Chase who are the main lovebirds of the basement dorms in Sheridan, and the break-up between Winston and Mags. There's also a very interesting storyline with Megan's dad who was a Pro-football player. Though, the main suspense includes Megan's mother who suddenly shows up in Megan's life. Megan's dad tells her to stay away because her mother's a bad person, but Megan is willing to take that chance. She Runs Away is a book about healing and opening up. It does have quite a bit of cursing and sex, but I think it works well for the college aged characters. 

The ending also has a little hint of something coming next... perhaps a third installment with Maggie as the main character?

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

And Death Will Seize the Doctor Too

Christian Thompson has the power to heal with a touch of his hand. But the only thing more remarkable than this talent is the fact that he has no idea he has it. And, like many who have yet to discover their true purpose in life, he slogs through his days in a muted haze, feeling as if he's a ghost in his own life, often describing the way he feels as like having amnesia, but without the forgetting. Though intelligent, he can't find work. Though loving, he can't find love or companionship. Though desperate and trying desperately,  he simply cannot find a way out of the prison inside himself he's been trapped in most of his life.

As time passes, those dark feelings grow in power. Unwelcome and insistent thoughts of suicide begin to plague him; he's terrified to find himself stockpiling sleeping pills and razor blades and doing other frightening things. He fears he is close to doing something very foolish when, one day, he is approached by a man who promises an answer that will lift the weight he has been carrying for so long. But, the man explains, he cannot simply tell him the answer.  That is against the rules. All he can do is guide Christian, and only if he'll let him. Christian accepts the offer and it isn't long before he discovers not only his talent, but perhaps also the reason he has kept it hidden from himself for so long. You see, Christian Thompson has the power to heal with the touch of his hands, but for every person he cures he must first kill someone else.

Now as he wrestles with not only having such a power but whether or not to use it, he faces the ultimate test and discovers he may not have any real choice. The road this battle leads him down will change not only his life, but perhaps the entire world forever.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Jeremiah Swanson gives Christian Thompson the power to heal in his novel, And Death Will Seize the Doctor Too, but only if he's willing to kill for it first. That murderous twist was what initially caught my attention and pulled me toward the novel. Swanson delves into the deepest moral darkness of the human psyche and probes for boundaries. 

Christian Thompson is the main character of the novel. Though, various chapters shift the focus on to other key characters with a different time and place setting. Christian is hard to get a handle on. He's loyal and kind, presented clearly in scenes with his comatose wife, but he's also harsh, greedy, and selfish. The book is told in parts and thus, tells the story in a fragmented time frame. The setting changes rapidly and it's up to the reader to keep it straight, for the most part. 

In the time before Christian knew of his gift/curse, he was depressed, hopeless, lonely, and isolated. After discovery, he became terrified yet intrigued by what he could do. In the present tense of the book, Christian is trying to save his wife's life as well as his own while attempting to atone for killing an innocent bystander. Readers will enjoy the story line of the novel, but connecting with Christian will be different for everyone. His loyalty and love for his wife may draw in readers or his desire to help the sick and dying, or even both. Though the negative characteristics that make him realistic will work against the bond created with the reader. 

As previously mentioned, the setting jumps around quite often. In the present, Christian is trying to save his wife. To do that, he must obey those threatening him by killing without question to save a certain people. In the past, Swanson shares how Christian came to be in this situation through the discovery of his talent, his testing, training, and the beginning of his work. There are also sub-plots that weave in and out of Christian's story introducing key characters who come together in the end. Intriguing and innovative, Swanson's creativity shines in his prose and careful planning. However, there were a few times when I was confused by the relevance and the presentation of certain situations. Readers who enjoy science fiction and thrillers will certainly take pleasure in this novel. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups