Review: Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Revell 
Released: January 2, 2018
337 pages

About the Book:

There was another South in the 1960s, one far removed from the marches and bombings and turmoil in the streets that were broadcast on the evening news. It was a place of inner turmoil, where ordinary people struggled to right themselves on a social landscape that was dramatically shifting beneath their feet. This is the world of Valerie Fraser Luesse's stunning debut, Missing Isaac.

It is 1965 when black field hand Isaac Reynolds goes missing from the tiny, unassuming town of Glory, Alabama. The townspeople's reactions range from concern to indifference, but one boy will stop at nothing to find out what happened to his unlikely friend. White, wealthy, and fatherless, young Pete McLean has nothing to gain and everything to lose in his relentless search for Isaac. In the process, he will discover much more than he bargained for. Before it's all over, Pete--and the people he loves most--will have to blur the hard lines of race, class, and religion. And what they discover about themselves may change some of them forever.

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

This was a new to me author and I picked it up because the description sounded interesting. At the beginning I got huckleberry finn vibes and that made me nervous because I did not like that book. However I kept going and slowly began to get invested in the story. After Isaac disappears it felt like it became more of a coming-of-age story about Pete rather than the search for Isaac. I did like the character of Pete and watching him grow up and find friendship then love with Dovey, however he always felt older than he was supposed to be. I also enjoyed the storyline with his mom and any scenes with her and her sister always made me laugh. When Isaac is eventually found it felt like that part of the story was dropped with very little closure provided. I did not enjoy how the story jumped in time so much, thankfully each chapter opens with a date, but I always had to flip back to the beginning of the previous chapter to determine exactly how much time had passed (and a lot of the chapters were long). This book wasn't a hit for me, but I am open to trying more from this author.

Favourite Quote: 

“In his experience, it was always good when you could cross something off the list of stuff you're scared of.”

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)