Grace

By: T. Greenwood

Narrated by: Joel Richards

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Every family photograph hides a story. Some are suffused with warmth and joy, others reflect the dull ache of disappointed dreams. For 13-year-old Trevor Kennedy, taking photos helps make sense of his fractured world. His father, Kurt, struggles to keep a business going while also caring for Trevor's aging grandfather, whose hoarding has reached dangerous levels. Trevor's mother, Elisabeth, all but ignores her son while doting on his five-year-old sister, Gracy, and pilfering useless drugstore items. Trevor knows he can count on little Gracy's unconditional love and his art teacher's encouragement. None of that compensates for the bullying he has endured at school for as long as he can remember. But where Trevor once silently tolerated the jabs and name-calling, now anger surges through him in ways he's powerless to control. Only Crystal, a store clerk dealing with her own loss, sees the deep fissures in the Kennedy family - in the haunting photographs Trevor brings to be developed, and in the palpable distance between Elisabeth and her son. And as their lives become more intertwined, each will be pushed to the breaking point, with shattering, unforeseeable consequences.

©2012 T. Greenwood (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Disappointing....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I loved the last T. Greenwood book I read, but this one did not measure up.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

There were too many subplots: kleptomaniac wife, hoarder Grandpa, bullied teen, etc.
I found the story very dark with no light parts or humor - something I do not enjoy well at all.
It was also difficult to be sympathetic with anyone other than Gracie or Trevor.

What didn’t you like about Joel Richards’s performance?

My number one issue was that he did not pause between chapters! When I started the book I had to keep backing it up to figure out where I was and if I skipped a part! Very annoying.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Good story, narrator fine-ish

I really enjoyed this book . The story grabs you with the interesting and widely- varying characters, sometimes it is overly trite, but still a very enjoyable listen. Except there are several chapters with simply gratuitous grossness.

Another problem was the narrator. He mispronunced so many regular old words that it was a bit scary. Scary that no one caught it.

One was ACROST instead of across. And, no, it was not a character 's dialogue. It was in a description.

Other then nails on a blackboard issues like that, I would recommend this book to all who are not squeamish.

The vivid description of field dressing a deer was out of place and quite graphic and disturbing as were several other scenes. And I work in a trauma center ER!

So were several other bits- made me give it 4 instead of 5. Really should be 3.5 for story .