Official Review: Oreads by John F Lavelle

[Brenda Creech]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Oreads" by John F Lavelle.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Oreads by John F. Lavelle is a heartwrenching fictional coming-of-age story set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia in the 1960s. When fourteen-year-old Cassie Wolphe met seventeen-year-old Jake McCullom, they fell in love and planned to marry when Cassie graduated high school. But plans can change swiftly. Cassie's big brother, Ben, left home for California to follow the 1960s hippie movement. Her best friend, Darlene, also moved away. At least Cassie still had Jake—until he, too, admitted he wanted to leave to find a better way of life. Cassie was heartbroken as she stayed behind, but she hoped Jake would return.

Lonely and sad, Cassie inadvertently fell in with the wrong crowd at school. She began drinking and smoking and soon found herself pregnant. She quit school and married Judd Cantrell, the baby's father. Their marriage, fraught with physical abuse, ended badly, leaving Cassie pregnant with a second child. Her dreams shattered at the age of nineteen; with two small children, no money, and no skills, Cassie didn't know where to turn. Her mother barely spoke to her, and her mother-in-law hated her and wanted to take her children away. What was Cassie going to do? How was she going to take care of her children? Out of desperation, she made some egregious decisions that could end up costing her everything.

Oreads is an incredible book. The characters are so realistic, at times, I forgot I was reading a fictional novel. The author has a talent for writing with vivid detail, making the reader feel like they know the characters. Lavelle's descriptions of the scenery are breathtaking. For example, this description of early spring: "She thought she heard the wind blowing up out of the valleys, rushing along the stone faces of the mountain to rustle the gray-green leaves of the birch trees standing like frozen streaks of lightning on the ridge above her father's farm." And this view from a kitchen window: "Life seemed to overflow outside, the birthing and seeding, fruit ripening, the corn crowned with small golden rainbows, pregnant with large bulbous ears, their silken hair browning in the sun." The vivid imagery is what I liked most.

There wasn't anything I disliked about this book. The ending was abrupt, leaving me with unanswered questions, but I hope it means a sequel will be forthcoming. I am rating Oreads by John F. Lavelle 3 out of 4 stars. I would have loved to give this book a perfect four-star rating for the exceptional storyline and the vivid imagery; however, I found a significant number of errors that obligates me to deduct one star. The errors were mostly typos of misspelled or missing words, which didn't take away from the story; however, a round of professional editing would help give this book the four-star rating it deserves.

I look forward to reading more novels by this author. I highly recommend this book to adult readers who love fiction novels of any kind. I would not recommend it to very young teens due to some strong language and sexual content. Some adult readers may be offended by the language and content as well.

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Oreads
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[Bookishkrish24]

Fictions with realistic characters are a hard-to-find combination. I enjoyed reading your detailed review thanks.

[Brenda Creech]

Fictions with realistic characters are a hard-to-find combination. I enjoyed reading your detailed review thanks.

Thank you! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[RHD]

This one seems like a unique read. Cassie is between a rock and a hard place. Thank you for your insightful review

[Brenda Creech]

This one seems like a unique read. Cassie is between a rock and a hard place. Thank you for your insightful review

Yes, Cassie certainly is between a rock and a hard place. This book shows how the decisions we make sometimes affect us in more ways than we imagined possible! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[Diana Lowery]

This sounds like a book I would enjoy. I love the quotes that you included, and I agree with your assessment of the writing style.

[Brenda Creech]

This sounds like a book I would enjoy. I love the quotes that you included, and I agree with your assessment of the writing style.

Thanks, Diana. It's a very good book. If you get a chance to read it I hope you enjoy it. It has a lot of good life lessons in it which makes it ideal for young adults! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[kdstrack]

I loved your description of the author's vivid, detailed writing. The quotes you cited were beautiful! Your comment about Cassie's "egregious decisions" has piqued my curiosity about what she did to add to her precarious circumstances. This is one I want to read! Great writing.

[Chigo Nwagboso]

This is very pathetic. I feel so much for Cassie. I glad that teens will have a lot to learn about mingling with wrong company. Thanks for a detailed review.

[Brenda Creech]

I loved your description of the author's vivid, detailed writing. The quotes you cited were beautiful! Your comment about Cassie's "egregious decisions" has piqued my curiosity about what she did to add to her precarious circumstances. This is one I want to read! Great writing.

Thank you for your kind words! Cassie gets herself into quite a quandry! I hope you enjoy the book!

[Brenda Creech]

This is very pathetic. I feel so much for Cassie. I glad that teens will have a lot to learn about mingling with wrong company. Thanks for a detailed review.

Thanks, and thank you for stopping by and commenting!

[Kelyn]

Sometimes life is lived on a knifes-edge, and it sounds like Cassie is in that situation. I wish she would have just gone with Jake when he left. Her life probably would have turned out so much better, at least, I hope so. It's so easy for teens to fall in with the wrong crowd, but it's not really surprising. In my experience, the people who run in those groups are more likely to accept you for who you are...at least at first. It sounds like a sad but interesting book; I'll consider putting it on my TBR shelf. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Brenda Creech]

Sometimes life is lived on a knifes-edge, and it sounds like Cassie is in that situation. I wish she would have just gone with Jake when he left. Her life probably would have turned out so much better, at least, I hope so. It's so easy for teens to fall in with the wrong crowd, but it's not really surprising. In my experience, the people who run in those groups are more likely to accept you for who you are...at least at first. It sounds like a sad but interesting book; I'll consider putting it on my TBR shelf. Thanks for the recommendation!

Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I hope you get a chance to read the book. I'm sure you will enjoy it even though it is sad how Cassie and Jake parted, and how her life just seemed to spiral out of control when she started hanging out with the other teens!

[PeterRabitt20]

the situation Cassie finds herself in is so common. I hope she finds some solace after being let down by so many at such a young age. Thanks for the lovely review!