What Beauty There Is

This book was released only five days ago, yet I can see it eventually being used in classrooms...like holy moly, is it dark and eerie and emotional and lyrical all at the same time, with some of the best characters I've read and a beautiful, atmospheric storyline. Blown away. Speechless. Just wow, Anderson. How have I not heard of this author before??!

Man, listen...this books starts off heavy. And stays pretty heavy throughout. It's a very haunting and heartbreaking book. And with that comes trigger warnings such as suicide and that's right off the bat. Then there's absent parent, enclosed spaces, gore and murder to name some. So I want to say that right at the beginning and not the end but when I say it can be a heavy book for some I mean it's HEAVY.

Jack Morton has had to grow up and do it fast. Life has not been easy for him at all and all he has left is his little brother. Now he has to decide if he will let his brother go to foster or find the drug money his father hid. Jack doesn't know Ava Bardem. But Ava know Jack.

Ava Bardem was told her whole life by her father to love and trust no one. And she has to choose...find the money for her father (who was Jack's father partner in crime) or help the brothers get the money so they can survive.

This was all in all a very good thriller that gave me more than I was expecting to be honest. Especially for YA, which is a plus for me.

Wow! What a truly excellent book that was!!! I've just read it in one day!

The book was heartbreaking and difficult to read at times. I was really pulled into the story and found myself just hoping against hope for a good ending for Jack, Matty and Ava.

It was beautifully written and so evocative. As I was reading, I found myself feeling sadness, agony, fear, anxiety along with Jack, Matty and Ava. Their strength and sheer force of will was something to be greatly admired. At some points I honestly didnt't know how they kept going especially Jack!

This has to have been my best read of 2021 so far and it bought to mind Chris Whitaker's We Begin At The End.

Thank you to PH and Cory Anderson for the chance to read this excellent book.

I would definitely highly recommend it to all.

After reading the First Impression excerpt on Bookishfirst.com, I was very intrigued and excited to read this book. Thankfully, I was given an ARC of it in exchange for my honest opinion. Having finished the book, I am pleased to share that I really enjoyed it. This is a well-written, heartbreaking story about a young man trying to keep what is left of his family together through one tragedy after another.

The book opens with Jack Dahl, the main character, discovering his mother's suicide. He is left with a younger brother to care for and no money or home. His main goal is to keep his brother with him, so he must find a way to feed and shelter them both. His father is in prison, but he hid a briefcase of drug money somewhere, and Jack is determined to find it. But this pursuit puts him in the path of some bad people. The only person who is helping him is a girl named Ava who just happens to be the daughter of the criminal from whom Jack's father stole the drug money.

The main characters of this story evoke a great deal of sympathy in the reader. Jack's plight is difficult to read because it is so sad and unfair. His love for his little brother Matty is endearing. He will stop at nothing to make sure Matty is with him and safe. His own well-being is an afterthought. The reader cannot help but root for these two boys. While the main characters are well fleshed out, the development of the secondary characters is lacking, in my opinion. There is not enough information provided to explain the actions and behaviors that many of them exhibit, especially the main antagonist.

The plot of the story is tense and emotional. There are not many moments of peace for the characters, and there is a good bit of violence against teenagers and children. The main negative thing about this plot is that it feels rushed at times. The friendship that develops between Jack and Ava does does not feel realistic because it happens too quickly and without explanation. Why would Jack trust this girl he doesn't know when he is so unwilling to trust anyone else?

Overall, the book is quite good. The story of Jack and his brother is both sweet and heartbreaking. I would recommend this book to readers who are not opposed to stories that are dark and violent while still revealing a powerful bond of love between characters.