No One is Invincible

by Shawn Walker

No One is Invincible is about a 16 year boy named John, who runs away from a domestic violence filled home and finds himself alone on the streets... That is, until he finds solace in a charismatic, 6 year old, little girl named Candy, who, having faced a similar plight, recently ran away from the local orphanage. He eventually finds himself taking on the big brother role to her. Together they face extreme hunger, horrid winter weather, and apathy and inhumanity amongst the people. Starving and at deaths door, their saving grace happens when they run into a local beat up building called "Mom's Coffee Shop." Inside they meet a mysterious old woman who everybody just calls "Mom." Nobody knows her real name, but her calm demeanor and sweet personality welcomes them in and she tries to feed or take care of them when she can. She's expecting a business inspector soon, so even her supply of help is limited. The three misfit friends seem to take the world by storm, until a painful epidemic known as cancer quickly becomes the focal point of our story to one of the beloved characters...

Genres: Young Adult

370 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2016

About the author

Shawn Walker is a down to earth, candid kind of guy who loves art in its many formats. He takes deep pleasure in listening to and writing music. He particularly enjoys punk rock. In addition to music, Shawn writes poetry and novels. Shawn has been writing since he was a young teenager and began writing his first published novel, No one is Invincible when he was 20 years old. Shawn hopes this novel provides a sense of empathy and compassion not only for people who have personally battled cancer, but also for family, friends, and loved who emotionally battled alongside them. He hopes to let these loved ones know, their role is an endeavor too. He also hopes to open people’s minds to things in this world that he feels are morally corrupt. Shawn currently resides in Springdale, Arkansas with his high school sweetheart of six years.

Reviews

[Danielle Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

No One Is Invincible by Shawn Walker is a read to behold. This novel holds more than to the eyes see. A story is that is deep...emotional and one that awakens readers to the evils of men. Human ignorance is one of the worst evils humans possess. That and greed. The more we have the more we want. Yet when we meet those who have little or nothing we turn a blind's eye to them. It's those people that we should be helping and paying attention to...not to our wealth. Family comes in all varieties these days. A young man is smart yet feels alone runs away from his home. He is soon faced with problems of hunger, shelter, and love. Humans see the issues but they harden their hearts instead of opening them. I felt sadness, frustration, and anger. The difficulties and struggles of the characters were easy to relate to and understand. I want to cry, hug, and love the characters like they were my own family. I wanted to help them. In the end, I felt the loss, the grief, but also, a sense of belonging and love. There is hope after all...Shawn Walker's novel, No One is Invincible is one that all should read. I highly recommend it to readers worldwide. The issues are real. The characters will tug at readers' hearts and souls. I fell in love. Overall, this was masterfully woven and well-developed.

[Samantha Gunning]

I won this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I received an autographed paperback copy.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it held my interest and I found I was always eager to keep picking it up to finish it (it's been a while since I've read something like that). It's nice to read a story about a loving family, John, candy, and Mom, that came together out of circumstance.

[Pallavi Sareen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
You know how we hear that "Teenagers think they're invincible. That they can do anything"
That's the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the title. And after seeing the cover, I thought, it'd be some story of a teenager doing stupid things and discovering himself in the process.
I was so wrong.
When you think things are getting better, it gets worse. And it's such an emotional book. Homeless, starving, and responsible for a kid, that's too much responsibility for John. And even though I loved candy, she is just a kid and kids get needy. I saw his struggle to balance everything, surviving and taking care of Candy.And I saw him trying to be happy even when the circumstances were terrible. I think this book showed me the harshest of truth and I needed to see it. When we see a homeless person, none of us stops to think about his story and what circumstances brought him there, how he's trying to survive day after another. All our problems seem superficial compared to that. I really liked the story and the message this book was trying to convey. What I didn't enjoy much was the writing style. When I read the first few passages, it felt like I was reading some kid's journal. And John's way of talking irked me. Sometime he talked stupidly and other times like a pretentious person. I also found that Candy's dialogues didn't match up with her age. There's one character that felt real to me and that's Josh but Alas! we only have a few chapters with him. Now mentioning Mom (Why Mom? Like what kind of nick-name is mom? I mean I get that she's a motherly figure but still, you can't just name her Mom. Oh wait, you can! Writer's freedom. But still I thought that there wasn't any creativity with the names and the flow of writing wasn't that good. But the theme, it's worth it.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)