Book Review - Once Brothers

Another review of one of my wife's novels. You can find her at http://pdworkman.com. She has several promos going on right now, including a giveaway of a signed copy of Once Brothers on Goodreads. 

Growing up, I was taught to stay away from the gangs and wild kids. Which was not to hard for me to do, because we did not have to deal with gangs in my day. Back then, we mostly got around by dinosaur, but I digress. For this reason, when I started reading Once Brothers, I was wondering how much I was going to hate these kids.  Much to my surprise, I found the exact opposite

The biggest lesson I learned from reading this marvelous book was the old saying you can never judge a book by its cover. In reality, we never know the real reason a homeless kid goes astray. Do you know what going on with those kids? What made those kids make the decisions they made?

I found myself in a predicament reading the book of being furious with the characters one moment and feeling sorry for them the next. Take Jacob for instance. Having a father who is a policeman is bad enough. Being constantly in the spotlight with so much pressure to be perfect. But Jacob had a much darker secret in his life. He has a smaller brother, Nicholas, who he has to take under his arm thanks to his abusive father. Jacob, a fifteen-year-old, was being forced to be a man much too young.  Jacob was looking anywhere for protection, to get away from his father. But can he leave his brother with his dad? His decisions lead to gang life. Can he get out? Can he save himself and his brother?

Deke is out on his own. He has no family, no one to look up to. No one to look to for answers. Where will he go who can he trust? How will he survive day to day? Future goals like education aren't even his priority. He first has to survive from day to day. What kind of chance does Deke have when everything seems to be against him in an unforgiving world? Is the gang life the only answer?

 

Sammy is a ten-year-old who would love to have a mother who is not always drunk or stoned. He would like to come home just once without worrying if his mother is still alive. When he is confronted by a gang who want him to be a courier, how is suppose to say no? Sammy has to make some tough decisions. Will they be the right ones?

Pam brings these kids to life in her thought-provoking novel. She makes you realize that life is not always black and white. Quite simply, life is not always as simple as it looks. She makes you think that those kids in the gang might not have the luxuries that you I take for granted.

You will find yourself pulling for these children. She will have you on the edge of your seat until the end. You won't be able to put this book down.