Review by jdraper16 -- The Juicy Fruit Man by LaMar Going
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Review by jdraper16 -- The Juicy Fruit Man by LaMar Going
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Juicy Fruit Man" by LaMar Going.]
I finished reading The Juicy Fruit Man by LaMar Going and gave it 4 out of 4 stars. Declan was in the United States Army and was drafted during the Vietnam War. He had grown up close to his cousin Rachel and she was crushed when he was drafted. He was injured, losing half the vision in his right eye, and sent home. Before coming home he shipped back over a ton of Vietnam marijuana, nicknamed Juicy Fruit, to Rachel for safekeeping. In the intervening years, he rode the Amtrak rails and sold this Juicy Fruit a little at a time to make enough money to survive. Two Amtrak cops, Mike and Ike, followed Declan closely but were never able to actually pin anything on him and make an arrest. One day he gets a message that Fisher, another Ranger who went MIA and Declan presumed had been killed, wants to speak with him. Turns out Fisher thinks he should get a cut of the Juicy Fruit. Declan makes him a deal knowing he won’t walk away from the rest of it that easily. Declan and Rachel are forced to defend the family farm, their Juicy Fruit operation, and their lives.
The story was intriguing and well written. I only noticed one little typo and it could have been from converting the PDF format into a Kindle format. During the first half of the book there are a lot of country clichés, all sounding unnatural and forced. I understand why the author tried to include them and applaud the effort, but they come across as things that have been Googled and then forced into a city boy’s vernacular. Coming from the country myself it stood out like a sore thumb.
The storyline itself was very entertaining and easy to follow. You understood the background of the characters and why they were doing things their way. Declan was especially well developed. He had grown up in a loving, close family then experienced hell during the Vietnam War. This changed him, but he maintained his country boy values and tried to blend the two worlds together as best as he could. Rachel was always his cheerleader and the love she has for him came through and made them both extremely relatable characters.
The novel was set in a time when there were no cell phones or other modern conveniences. The author has done a superb job of keeping in the timeline he has set. It would have been very easy to slip in an invention or two that weren’t around in that era, but the author did his research and knew what modes of communication were available at the time and stuck with them. The vehicles used in the book were all generic enough to fit the times or specific enough that they fit the era as well. The author had done his homework on how a farm would have been run at the time and the capabilities, equipment, and buildings required to make it successful. The farm’s layout and building placement were all in line with how a farm would be set up.
Overall this is a great story. It has enough intrigue to keep the reader engaged and interested throughout the whole novel. The characters are relatable and well developed. The setting is in line with the era where the author has set the story. There was no profanity or sexual scenes so I would recommend this book to anyone.
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The Juicy Fruit Man
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I finished reading The Juicy Fruit Man by LaMar Going and gave it 4 out of 4 stars. Declan was in the United States Army and was drafted during the Vietnam War. He had grown up close to his cousin Rachel and she was crushed when he was drafted. He was injured, losing half the vision in his right eye, and sent home. Before coming home he shipped back over a ton of Vietnam marijuana, nicknamed Juicy Fruit, to Rachel for safekeeping. In the intervening years, he rode the Amtrak rails and sold this Juicy Fruit a little at a time to make enough money to survive. Two Amtrak cops, Mike and Ike, followed Declan closely but were never able to actually pin anything on him and make an arrest. One day he gets a message that Fisher, another Ranger who went MIA and Declan presumed had been killed, wants to speak with him. Turns out Fisher thinks he should get a cut of the Juicy Fruit. Declan makes him a deal knowing he won’t walk away from the rest of it that easily. Declan and Rachel are forced to defend the family farm, their Juicy Fruit operation, and their lives.
The story was intriguing and well written. I only noticed one little typo and it could have been from converting the PDF format into a Kindle format. During the first half of the book there are a lot of country clichés, all sounding unnatural and forced. I understand why the author tried to include them and applaud the effort, but they come across as things that have been Googled and then forced into a city boy’s vernacular. Coming from the country myself it stood out like a sore thumb.
The storyline itself was very entertaining and easy to follow. You understood the background of the characters and why they were doing things their way. Declan was especially well developed. He had grown up in a loving, close family then experienced hell during the Vietnam War. This changed him, but he maintained his country boy values and tried to blend the two worlds together as best as he could. Rachel was always his cheerleader and the love she has for him came through and made them both extremely relatable characters.
The novel was set in a time when there were no cell phones or other modern conveniences. The author has done a superb job of keeping in the timeline he has set. It would have been very easy to slip in an invention or two that weren’t around in that era, but the author did his research and knew what modes of communication were available at the time and stuck with them. The vehicles used in the book were all generic enough to fit the times or specific enough that they fit the era as well. The author had done his homework on how a farm would have been run at the time and the capabilities, equipment, and buildings required to make it successful. The farm’s layout and building placement were all in line with how a farm would be set up.
Overall this is a great story. It has enough intrigue to keep the reader engaged and interested throughout the whole novel. The characters are relatable and well developed. The setting is in line with the era where the author has set the story. There was no profanity or sexual scenes so I would recommend this book to anyone.
******
The Juicy Fruit Man
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: How To Be Successful by M. Curtis McCoy
