Review of Farewell, Fair Child

[Hhannahh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Farewell, Fair Child" by joseph amirikhas.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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When ten-year-old Jason Tristrum first arrived in America, he knew everything about it was different from Tehran, the capital city of Iran, where he grew up. The streets were wider and had more cars on them, the buildings were taller, and the people were more liberal. Over time, he also noticed that the girls were...sexier. Farewell, Fair Child is a fictional coming-of-age story. The book follows Jason as he loses his childly innocence and becomes socially aware and sexually conscious.

Narrated from Jason's perspective, the story flowed from the present to the past, starting from Jason's life after high school down to his early years in Tehran. The chapters were titled after the people in Jason's life. The story followed Jason's physical, social, and sexual development from Iran, through middle school, and during his freshman year. The underlying themes in this book were change and development.

The first commendable thing about this book is its attractive cover page followed by its fitting title. Its moderate length and simple diction make it an enjoyable and easy read. Also, Jason was a likable character: gentle until provoked, a lyrical composer, and he had his way of eliciting laughter from crowds. Most importantly, the story itself was interesting and believable. I liked this book well enough that I was a little disappointed when it ended. Although the book had little suspense in it, its cliffhanging ending has me hoping for a sequel.

I suppose this book was intended for teenagers and young adults, but I don't feel comfortable recommending it to teenagers, especially younger teens. The book had a sexual undertone all through, which, I felt at some point, was unnecessary. In his adolescent age, Jason was more sexually aware of women than I would have thought possible. I don't know if that is the reality for boys, but I felt that bit was overplayed. Considering his young age, I was sometimes embarrassed by Jason's thoughts. Also, I felt the adults in Jason's life were unusually careless. In addition to these reservations, I found the cover of this book misleading; it gives the impression that the book is about a girl. It would have been more fitting if the cover bore the picture of a young man instead of a young lady's.

Farewell, Fair Child was a good book, but it didn't earn a perfect rating. Besides a couple of other errors, I noticed one constant error—the wrong use of semicolons in place of commas—which led me to believe that this book was not professionally edited. Considering the reservations I mentioned in the last paragraph and the imperfect editing of this book, I'll rate Farewell, Fair Child by Joseph Armirikhas 3 out of 4 stars. In conclusion, this book is best suited for older teenagers and young adults.

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Farewell, Fair Child
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[markodim721]

The book has a very interesting plot and narration from a different perspective than the one we are used to. Thanks for reading recommendation.

[Eddy E]

Coming of ages stories are usually interesting an informative but like you stated in the review sometimes things are overdone and sexuality takes a major role downplaying other beautiful aspects.

[Hhannahh]

The book has a very interesting plot and narration from a different perspective than the one we are used to. Thanks for reading recommendation.

Coming of ages stories are usually interesting an informative but like you stated in the review sometimes things are overdone and sexuality takes a major role downplaying other beautiful aspects.

Thank you for reading and commenting.

[Josephe-Anne]

I agree with the points you made. Judging from the cover, I also thought this book was about a young lady and not a young man. It gives the impression of a teenager going off to college in a faraway place. Furthermore, we, unfortunately, live in an era of oversexualization at younger and younger ages.

Thank you for sharing your honest opinions in this review.

[Dzejn_Crvena]

I read several coming of age stories with boys who experience the same thing. Like you, I also wonder if their stories are realistic enough to feel the sexual undertone. I guess it's different with the opposite sex or environment these people grew up in.

Thanks for your honest review. I will consider reading this book someday.

[Chisom oguejiofor]

I can relate to your confusion about the sexual undertone in this book, but I guess that's some teens' reality. This book's cover is attractive, and it's plot seems interesting.
Nice review.