Review by letty53 -- 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo
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letty53
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- Latest Review: 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo
Review by letty53 -- 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo
[Following is a volunteer review of "2612 Cherryhill Lane" by Glenn Vo.]
Jonathan McCalister is a quarterback in the Katy’s high school football team. At the very last minute of the game, he calls the last shot and leads his team to victory. After winning the state championship and MVP that year, his family and his girlfriend -Lacey give him a warm congratulation. In that moment, Jonathan is having the time of his life, and everything seems so perfect. Not until 2612 Cherryhill Lane happens, Jonathan can vaguely grasp what transpires as he awakes in a hospital bed with no legs. Worst still his only sister, Gaby, did not make it out of the accident. Fast forward three years later, Jonathan is at rock bottom as he studies law at the Central Texas University instead of playing football. He feels abandoned by his assistant -Dominic, who gets accepted into law school, and his father -Jeff McCalister, who he is not on speaking terms with, blames Jonathan of Gaby’s death.
Even so, his mother -Rose refuses to give up as she urges, he takes in another assistant. The only problem is, his new assistant -Samantha Ried is a ‘girl’. She won’t be able to help him do ‘guy’ things such as play video games. However, Samantha is drop dead beautiful, and appears to always challenge him in a good way. She makes him want to do things he never imagines, for instance, facing the fears of his past. Among other things, she doesn’t seem to mind that he is on a wheel chair and has no legs. Jonathan appears to have feelings for Samantha, but he is also hiding something from her. A dark past he desperately doesn’t want her or anyone else to find out. Samantha’s study buddy, Dean, is also in love with Samantha, and cannot figure out what Samantha sees in that ‘crippled guy’. Having this grudge, Dean decides to investigate Jonathan’s dark past. He actively decides to expose Jonathan’s past in the mist of his friend; that is, Samantha, and anyone who cared to listen. What will these mean for his relationship for Samantha? Will this secret free Jonathan from his hunted dark past?
2612 Cherryhill Lane is beautifully penned by Glenn Vo, who brings to awareness a whole new world of people with disabilities in general; the focus being on the crippled. He also addresses very pertinent topics such as texting and driving; also, the importance of God being the center of everything. I personally love the quote “God has a plan for everyone”, because it eased some amount of the anxiety that I was feeling. The presence of a higher being having a plan is very reassuring regardless of whom their God is; as in fact, this was the underlying theme of the story as Jonathan dealt with a heavy sense of guilt. I love the way the story was presented from Act I through Act VI, each act clearly narrating the growth stages in the life of Jonathan. The reader feels like they are reading a Shakespeare novel, but with a modern touch to it. The story in itself is not very difficult to read, the points are lucent, elaborated, and embellished. A world where everyone has one common enemy, and everyone but the enemy is accepting of the hero. For a moment you dream you want to live in a world as that, although it shows how peculiar Jonathan was of his inner circle.
Per contra, I did not like that there were not enough conflicts among the characters to add the right amount of drama to the story. As a result, this was utterly frustrating because I was expecting more from the story than it delivered. Although the characters were unique, it seemed that the author only made them skin deep. Secondly, the way Samantha’s family was very accepting of Jonathan’s disability was shocking, because I personally thought her father would be more prejudiced against his daughter dating a cripple man; besides, most parents have high expectation of the partner their children choose to be with. The narrating style was also confusing, because it was often hard to pick which thoughts belong to which character. Unlike the movies where two characters fall in love even though everything goes well, there is always room for misunderstanding; this misunderstanding is born as people try to grow and understand each other. Not knowing what the other is thinking is a good thing, as it piques the curiosity of the reader, because the reader also wants to know the root of this misunderstanding. Nonetheless, two characters need to sit down and have that hard conversation, or else someone ignites the flame for that hard conversation to take place. However, this was not the case with the novel, because the author was telling instead of showing. The reader would love to unpack scenes with the characters as the story develops, that way we (as the readers) find out what the characters truly felt. I think that the characters did not know how they felt, but the readers do. The author would have allowed the reader to discover the character’s real-time thought process, and the emotions they were feeling, because this gives the readers a sense of living in that same universe and time frame created by the author.
Overall, the story was quite relatable, and brings a lot of peace to the reader. Despite that it is not professionally edited, I give it a 3 out of 4. This story though not dramatic enough, elated my spirit (if I may say so), so much so that, I found myself unable to move from my chair as I read every page of this novel. The story does not contain any form of profanity, I highly recommend it to teenagers, people who struggle with guilt, people of faith, and anyone having trouble accepting themselves.
******
2612 Cherryhill Lane
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Jonathan McCalister is a quarterback in the Katy’s high school football team. At the very last minute of the game, he calls the last shot and leads his team to victory. After winning the state championship and MVP that year, his family and his girlfriend -Lacey give him a warm congratulation. In that moment, Jonathan is having the time of his life, and everything seems so perfect. Not until 2612 Cherryhill Lane happens, Jonathan can vaguely grasp what transpires as he awakes in a hospital bed with no legs. Worst still his only sister, Gaby, did not make it out of the accident. Fast forward three years later, Jonathan is at rock bottom as he studies law at the Central Texas University instead of playing football. He feels abandoned by his assistant -Dominic, who gets accepted into law school, and his father -Jeff McCalister, who he is not on speaking terms with, blames Jonathan of Gaby’s death.
Even so, his mother -Rose refuses to give up as she urges, he takes in another assistant. The only problem is, his new assistant -Samantha Ried is a ‘girl’. She won’t be able to help him do ‘guy’ things such as play video games. However, Samantha is drop dead beautiful, and appears to always challenge him in a good way. She makes him want to do things he never imagines, for instance, facing the fears of his past. Among other things, she doesn’t seem to mind that he is on a wheel chair and has no legs. Jonathan appears to have feelings for Samantha, but he is also hiding something from her. A dark past he desperately doesn’t want her or anyone else to find out. Samantha’s study buddy, Dean, is also in love with Samantha, and cannot figure out what Samantha sees in that ‘crippled guy’. Having this grudge, Dean decides to investigate Jonathan’s dark past. He actively decides to expose Jonathan’s past in the mist of his friend; that is, Samantha, and anyone who cared to listen. What will these mean for his relationship for Samantha? Will this secret free Jonathan from his hunted dark past?
2612 Cherryhill Lane is beautifully penned by Glenn Vo, who brings to awareness a whole new world of people with disabilities in general; the focus being on the crippled. He also addresses very pertinent topics such as texting and driving; also, the importance of God being the center of everything. I personally love the quote “God has a plan for everyone”, because it eased some amount of the anxiety that I was feeling. The presence of a higher being having a plan is very reassuring regardless of whom their God is; as in fact, this was the underlying theme of the story as Jonathan dealt with a heavy sense of guilt. I love the way the story was presented from Act I through Act VI, each act clearly narrating the growth stages in the life of Jonathan. The reader feels like they are reading a Shakespeare novel, but with a modern touch to it. The story in itself is not very difficult to read, the points are lucent, elaborated, and embellished. A world where everyone has one common enemy, and everyone but the enemy is accepting of the hero. For a moment you dream you want to live in a world as that, although it shows how peculiar Jonathan was of his inner circle.
Per contra, I did not like that there were not enough conflicts among the characters to add the right amount of drama to the story. As a result, this was utterly frustrating because I was expecting more from the story than it delivered. Although the characters were unique, it seemed that the author only made them skin deep. Secondly, the way Samantha’s family was very accepting of Jonathan’s disability was shocking, because I personally thought her father would be more prejudiced against his daughter dating a cripple man; besides, most parents have high expectation of the partner their children choose to be with. The narrating style was also confusing, because it was often hard to pick which thoughts belong to which character. Unlike the movies where two characters fall in love even though everything goes well, there is always room for misunderstanding; this misunderstanding is born as people try to grow and understand each other. Not knowing what the other is thinking is a good thing, as it piques the curiosity of the reader, because the reader also wants to know the root of this misunderstanding. Nonetheless, two characters need to sit down and have that hard conversation, or else someone ignites the flame for that hard conversation to take place. However, this was not the case with the novel, because the author was telling instead of showing. The reader would love to unpack scenes with the characters as the story develops, that way we (as the readers) find out what the characters truly felt. I think that the characters did not know how they felt, but the readers do. The author would have allowed the reader to discover the character’s real-time thought process, and the emotions they were feeling, because this gives the readers a sense of living in that same universe and time frame created by the author.
Overall, the story was quite relatable, and brings a lot of peace to the reader. Despite that it is not professionally edited, I give it a 3 out of 4. This story though not dramatic enough, elated my spirit (if I may say so), so much so that, I found myself unable to move from my chair as I read every page of this novel. The story does not contain any form of profanity, I highly recommend it to teenagers, people who struggle with guilt, people of faith, and anyone having trouble accepting themselves.
******
2612 Cherryhill Lane
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo
