Official Review: Music Has Legs
Posted: 06 Oct 2020, 17:21
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Music Has Legs" by David Haznaw & Marlene Byrne.]
Before I started writing this review, I had taken some time to clear my head from the overwhelming emotions that reading this book put me through. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I like to give my ratings for books at the end of my reviews, but for this book, I can't wait. Therefore, I am rating Music Has Legs 4 out of 4 stars.
Music Has Legs by David Haznaw & Marlene Byrne is a non-fiction title based on the story of Juan Manuel Pineda. Though it's a title based on true-life events, I must commend the authors for creatively developing the scenes, conversations, and characters to make the story more exciting.
Juan Manuel Pineda is a Salvadoran who lost his legs in a fire incident that burnt down their house when he was still a child. Consequently, his father abandoned them, and his mother was also bedridden due to a protracted illness. Eventually, Juan's dying mother invited Father Ron Hicks and begged him to accept her son into Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), a home for orphans. Father Ron Hicks was the Regional Director of NPH at the time, covering El Salvador and other Central American countries. Juan also had a severe cleft palate, so upon his admittance into NPH, Father Hicks and other donors facilitated a move to have his palate fixed.
The journey to fix Juan's cleft palate took him and Samuel Jimenez, another orphan in NPH, to America. They both stayed with Marlene Byrne and her family in Chicago anytime they came to America for Juan's surgeries. In America, Juan's musical talents were hard to ignore! Hence, Marlene, Samuel, Father Hicks, and many others play their roles to push Juan to the spotlight so that through his music, he could share his story with the world.
I can't sufficiently commend David Haznaw and Marlene Byrne for bringing Juan's story to life through their impeccable writing style. While reading this book, I forgot I was reading a non-fiction title most of the time due to how suspenseful this book was for me. The authors' use of the alternating first-person point of view (Marlene, Samuel, and Father Hick's perspectives) to narrate Juan's story is genius! It helped me to understand each narrator's struggles and challenges better. It also gave me an 'omniscient' view of Juan's personality and events in the book.
I enjoyed the humor in this title. It is most evident in Samuel's narrations. I looked forward to reading his part of the narrations due to how much he made me laugh. His descriptions and struggles with the English language were just hilarious.
Nevertheless, what I liked the most about this book is its message. Like Marlene, I also wonder why God seems to bless some people with wealth while He leaves some others to wallow in abject poverty. However, I found the achievements of the people in this book to be inspiring! Juan's story goes to show that dreams do come true. I have learned from this book that we might never be able to relate to how poor and vulnerable some people are. But with gratitude and by lending a helping hand to them, we can make the world a better place.
While Juan's story is the main subject of this book, I found Samuel's own to be very touching. I struggled to hold back my tears when Samuel was explaining why there's no photo of him as a baby to Marlene's daughter. Music Has Legs is professionally edited and with a few typos. There were just two instances of curse words in it. I am recommending this book to readers who love a fascinating story about emerging victorious despite untold predicaments and obstacles. Also, anyone who wishes to help the needy will find this title very inspiring.
******
Music Has Legs
View: on Bookshelves
Before I started writing this review, I had taken some time to clear my head from the overwhelming emotions that reading this book put me through. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I like to give my ratings for books at the end of my reviews, but for this book, I can't wait. Therefore, I am rating Music Has Legs 4 out of 4 stars.
Music Has Legs by David Haznaw & Marlene Byrne is a non-fiction title based on the story of Juan Manuel Pineda. Though it's a title based on true-life events, I must commend the authors for creatively developing the scenes, conversations, and characters to make the story more exciting.
Juan Manuel Pineda is a Salvadoran who lost his legs in a fire incident that burnt down their house when he was still a child. Consequently, his father abandoned them, and his mother was also bedridden due to a protracted illness. Eventually, Juan's dying mother invited Father Ron Hicks and begged him to accept her son into Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), a home for orphans. Father Ron Hicks was the Regional Director of NPH at the time, covering El Salvador and other Central American countries. Juan also had a severe cleft palate, so upon his admittance into NPH, Father Hicks and other donors facilitated a move to have his palate fixed.
The journey to fix Juan's cleft palate took him and Samuel Jimenez, another orphan in NPH, to America. They both stayed with Marlene Byrne and her family in Chicago anytime they came to America for Juan's surgeries. In America, Juan's musical talents were hard to ignore! Hence, Marlene, Samuel, Father Hicks, and many others play their roles to push Juan to the spotlight so that through his music, he could share his story with the world.
I can't sufficiently commend David Haznaw and Marlene Byrne for bringing Juan's story to life through their impeccable writing style. While reading this book, I forgot I was reading a non-fiction title most of the time due to how suspenseful this book was for me. The authors' use of the alternating first-person point of view (Marlene, Samuel, and Father Hick's perspectives) to narrate Juan's story is genius! It helped me to understand each narrator's struggles and challenges better. It also gave me an 'omniscient' view of Juan's personality and events in the book.
I enjoyed the humor in this title. It is most evident in Samuel's narrations. I looked forward to reading his part of the narrations due to how much he made me laugh. His descriptions and struggles with the English language were just hilarious.
Nevertheless, what I liked the most about this book is its message. Like Marlene, I also wonder why God seems to bless some people with wealth while He leaves some others to wallow in abject poverty. However, I found the achievements of the people in this book to be inspiring! Juan's story goes to show that dreams do come true. I have learned from this book that we might never be able to relate to how poor and vulnerable some people are. But with gratitude and by lending a helping hand to them, we can make the world a better place.
While Juan's story is the main subject of this book, I found Samuel's own to be very touching. I struggled to hold back my tears when Samuel was explaining why there's no photo of him as a baby to Marlene's daughter. Music Has Legs is professionally edited and with a few typos. There were just two instances of curse words in it. I am recommending this book to readers who love a fascinating story about emerging victorious despite untold predicaments and obstacles. Also, anyone who wishes to help the needy will find this title very inspiring.
******
Music Has Legs
View: on Bookshelves
