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The Calm
New-to-town little Cal Parker meets two boys his same age, Drake Briggs and Joe Hart, and they become fast friends. They soon find that having each other's backs greatly increases their chances of coming out of difficult situations unscathed, which strengthens their friendships.
Cal struggles with his strict policeman dad. Drake's own father has been absent from his family of five. Joe lives in a happy, supportive home with his loving parents as well as three siblings, when tragedy strikes.
John Hackett Jr. lives for burning things, people and pretty much anything that will give him a grand result. When Johnny loses his mom at the tender age of seven by a middle-of-the-night house fire, something clicks in his fragile, innocent mind and he devotes his life to continuing the destruction any way he can.
Cal struggles with his strict policeman dad. Drake's own father has been absent from his family of five. Joe lives in a happy, supportive home with his loving parents as well as three siblings, when tragedy strikes.
John Hackett Jr. lives for burning things, people and pretty much anything that will give him a grand result. When Johnny loses his mom at the tender age of seven by a middle-of-the-night house fire, something clicks in his fragile, innocent mind and he devotes his life to continuing the destruction any way he can.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2018
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August 23, 2021
The Calm is a thrilling story with great characters. Each of the boys (Cal, Drake, and Joe) have their own struggles as they grow up (single parent households, family illness, strict emotionally distant parents etc.) that make them compassionate and wise beyond their years (perhaps unbelievably so, or perhaps I just have bad memories of teenage boys hah!)
The chapters told from the boys’ perspectives are a bit dialogue heavy for my taste. I think that’s one of the reasons I prefer John’s chapters, since his are not (out of necessity because of his loner tendencies). The other reason is that John’s chapters build suspense, and the slow build of waiting to see how his story would intersect with the trio was very well done.
All in all, an impressive debut effort!
The chapters told from the boys’ perspectives are a bit dialogue heavy for my taste. I think that’s one of the reasons I prefer John’s chapters, since his are not (out of necessity because of his loner tendencies). The other reason is that John’s chapters build suspense, and the slow build of waiting to see how his story would intersect with the trio was very well done.
All in all, an impressive debut effort!
Displaying 1 of 1 review