Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia
This is a hard review to write because there is so much I want to say about this book. First let me say I loved this book, although I will admit there were parts that were hard to read. Papa Pilgrim is a horrible human being and his family suffers terribly under his tyranny. I use the word tyranny because Papa Pilgrim considers himself the supreme leader. There is only one way and it is his way, the law do not apply to him.
We first meet Papa Pilgrim aka Robert Hale in Texas. He meets and marries his sweetheart 16 year old Kathrine. Six weeks later she kills herself with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The only one home at the time is Robert but he is never charged. Jump ahead several years and several wives and Papa meets and marries his fourth wife, 16 year old Kurana Rose. He is 33 at the time. This is when he finds religion or at least his interpretation of it. They settle in New Mexico until gets into trouble with the law. This is when he decides to move to Alaska. The family lives in Fairbanks for awhile but Papa can not stay out of trouble, so he moves his wife and 13 children to Macarthy. The sleepy little town has no idea what is heading its way.
Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Allie was in a terrible car accident. Not only is her boyfriend, Trip, killed but she loses her memory. As Allie starts to regain her memory she realizes things were not perfect with Trip. In fact they were far from it, he was an abusive and manipulative boyfriend. As her memories start to come back, she begins to wonder what really happened that night. Could the people who loved her the most be responsible for the accident? As Allie gets closer to the truth the town starts to turn against her.
This is an incredible story about the ugly side of an abusive relationship but it also is about healing and learning to trust. Sound like a Nicholas Sparks novel? Trust me it is not. If you like the edgy side of romance with a little mystery you will definitely like this book.
Cracked by K.M. Walton
Victor is tormented and bullied by Bull and the only way out, or at least as far as Victor is concerned, is to take a bottle of sleeping pills. This lands him in a psychiatric hospital. But Bull has his own problems; he lives with an alcoholic mother and a grandfather who uses him as his own personal punching bag. Bull has had enough of his grandfather's abuse and decides to put an end to it and his grandfather. Both Bull and Victor end up at the same hospital where they are forced to work through their issues.
I really liked this book. You feel for both characters. Victor you feel for from the start and you begin to realize Bull is a true victim of his surroundings. There is no happy ending but there is hope and that is why I liked this book.
