Official Review: The Journey by Chariss K. Walker
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KitKat_Reader
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Official Review: The Journey by Chariss K. Walker
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Journey" by Chariss K. Walker.]
1 out of 4 stars
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For Katy life has had many ups and downs such as her husband never being able to meet their daughter as he was killed in combat and the fact that she was able to build a healthy relationship with her parents because of this incident. Suddenly though, things start to change as Katy's parents are killed in a car crash and while they still have the house, she and her daughter Sammy are now living on their own. In walks Chuck; a man who is kind and caring and wanting Katy's happiness. When he convinces them to move to back home with him though, things change as Chuck turns into a terrible man who absuses Katy physically and emotionally on a regular basis. Katy wants to leave, but with his constant threats that he could find her if she did, is she really able to take her daughter and leave?
When I read the description for this book I had high hopes as the story sounded like it would be suspenseful and full of tense moments that would have me on the edge of my seat. I am sad to say, that was not the case. The writing was in third person, but it didn't feel like there was any narrator at all in the beginning. Honestly, it felt more like I was reading a lengthy police report than reading an actual story. A few chapters in it did take on the art of story telling, but it still didn't feel like any life was being breathed into it. It would randomly jump around as the whose point of view we were seeing the story from with no indication that change was going to happen. There were few to no details about anything and it felt like the book was just kind of rushing to get to the end.
I was never given the chance to truly delve into the minds of the characters and get to know them as there was never any inner dialogue or focusing on developing the characters on more than a basic level. What character that is described doesn't feel very real such as Sammy who is only supposed to be 11 being this wise and all-knowing young woman. This choice in character just felt forced and unnatural even considering the situations she has been put through. I never really felt any connection to the characters as the author never really expanded upon them and while there is obvious growth written in, it's condensed down into a paragraph or two giving no true growth to them. There were a few times where she did start to give some insight into Katy's character, but they don't last long and don't give an in-depth look into her.
There were parts of the book that felt like they were a cop out and more on the side of lazy writing such as halfway through the book a mysterious God like voice starts talking to Katy telling her what to do and her only conflict with trying to make sense of it lasts for a few sentences. It felt like it was just randomly thrown in as a way to get the story to end up where the author wanted it to go in the quickest way possible. As mentioned before with Sammy being such a wise and all-knowing character it feels like she was written in more for literally steering Katy along, leaving Katy no room to truly make any decisions by herself.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. There was so much potential in this book that it makes me sad it didn't turn out better. The writing was very plain and made the book feel more like an easy read than actual novel and the story felt rushed with too many cop outs to make it to the end. There were times when it felt like the characters were starting to show their true colors and we would really be able to get to know them, but the author never gave us a true, descriptive, and compelling look into the inner psyche of her characters. It makes me sad to have to give this book this score as I can feel potential oozing out of the pages, but it sadly was never allowed to reach that potential.
******
The Journey
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1 out of 4 stars
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For Katy life has had many ups and downs such as her husband never being able to meet their daughter as he was killed in combat and the fact that she was able to build a healthy relationship with her parents because of this incident. Suddenly though, things start to change as Katy's parents are killed in a car crash and while they still have the house, she and her daughter Sammy are now living on their own. In walks Chuck; a man who is kind and caring and wanting Katy's happiness. When he convinces them to move to back home with him though, things change as Chuck turns into a terrible man who absuses Katy physically and emotionally on a regular basis. Katy wants to leave, but with his constant threats that he could find her if she did, is she really able to take her daughter and leave?
When I read the description for this book I had high hopes as the story sounded like it would be suspenseful and full of tense moments that would have me on the edge of my seat. I am sad to say, that was not the case. The writing was in third person, but it didn't feel like there was any narrator at all in the beginning. Honestly, it felt more like I was reading a lengthy police report than reading an actual story. A few chapters in it did take on the art of story telling, but it still didn't feel like any life was being breathed into it. It would randomly jump around as the whose point of view we were seeing the story from with no indication that change was going to happen. There were few to no details about anything and it felt like the book was just kind of rushing to get to the end.
I was never given the chance to truly delve into the minds of the characters and get to know them as there was never any inner dialogue or focusing on developing the characters on more than a basic level. What character that is described doesn't feel very real such as Sammy who is only supposed to be 11 being this wise and all-knowing young woman. This choice in character just felt forced and unnatural even considering the situations she has been put through. I never really felt any connection to the characters as the author never really expanded upon them and while there is obvious growth written in, it's condensed down into a paragraph or two giving no true growth to them. There were a few times where she did start to give some insight into Katy's character, but they don't last long and don't give an in-depth look into her.
There were parts of the book that felt like they were a cop out and more on the side of lazy writing such as halfway through the book a mysterious God like voice starts talking to Katy telling her what to do and her only conflict with trying to make sense of it lasts for a few sentences. It felt like it was just randomly thrown in as a way to get the story to end up where the author wanted it to go in the quickest way possible. As mentioned before with Sammy being such a wise and all-knowing character it feels like she was written in more for literally steering Katy along, leaving Katy no room to truly make any decisions by herself.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. There was so much potential in this book that it makes me sad it didn't turn out better. The writing was very plain and made the book feel more like an easy read than actual novel and the story felt rushed with too many cop outs to make it to the end. There were times when it felt like the characters were starting to show their true colors and we would really be able to get to know them, but the author never gave us a true, descriptive, and compelling look into the inner psyche of her characters. It makes me sad to have to give this book this score as I can feel potential oozing out of the pages, but it sadly was never allowed to reach that potential.
******
The Journey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble
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Latest Review: "Hat of Keepings" by D.C. Vincent
