Review of Castle Rock Kingdom
Posted: 09 Jun 2023, 23:07
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Castle Rock Kingdom" by Andrew J Boyd.]
<r>This thought-provoking novel starts with the life of Evan, a 14-year-old only child who just moved to a small town called Castle Rock in Colorado. Actually, this was the town he was born in, so this was more like a homecoming. His dad had just gotten a promotion, and that was why they had to come. The story moves on to Jake, a childhood friend of Evan who is the typical young teen: self-centered and emotionally immature. He and Evan link up on Evans’s first day in middle school, but not much afterwards.<br/>
<br/>
The book also tells the story of Kev, another 14-year-old who was abandoned by his mom at a young age and currently lives at a shelter. Steven, a child of divorced parents, is Jake’s "best friend." Stacey and Ellie, who go to Castle Rock middle school too, and others The story gives us a glimpse into the minds and thoughts of these teens, as well as into the challenges they face and the choices they make.<br/>
<br/>
There were many positive things about this book, <I><s></s>Castle Rock Kingdom<e></e></I>, written by Andrew J. Boyd. It was socially charged. It addressed the challenges teens face in middle school. The stress of figuring out who they are, their academic life, their social life, and who they become friends with. In this book, I was made to understand that some people find it way more difficult to make friends than others, and these people run the risk of having depression due to their loneliness. This book served as a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the kids. I could read their thoughts through their narration and understand why they made some choices.<br/>
<br/>
The book also addressed societal vices like drug abuse and addiction. We also saw the scene of a mass shooting and the danger it caused to the entire public, both physically at that moment and mentally for others much later. Sexuality was also discussed in the book, along with the confusion it caused teens just figuring out life. All in all, this was a book I learned a lot from.<br/>
<br/>
The thing I did not like about this book was that it had a very slow build-up. In the initial stages of the book, I got bored and almost regretted picking it up. But in subsequent chapters, I got engrossed and could not keep it down. Also, there were some errors in the book.<br/>
<br/>
Because of the above reasons, I rate this book <B><s></s>4 out of 5 stars<e></e></B>. The recommendation for this book is a dicey one. On the one hand, I do not want to recommend it to readers below 18 because of the strong language used in the book and the sensitive scenes; however, it is this very class of people that needs to read this book and understand the danger of not engaging in certain life-changing practices.<br/>
</r>
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Castle Rock Kingdom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
<r>This thought-provoking novel starts with the life of Evan, a 14-year-old only child who just moved to a small town called Castle Rock in Colorado. Actually, this was the town he was born in, so this was more like a homecoming. His dad had just gotten a promotion, and that was why they had to come. The story moves on to Jake, a childhood friend of Evan who is the typical young teen: self-centered and emotionally immature. He and Evan link up on Evans’s first day in middle school, but not much afterwards.<br/>
<br/>
The book also tells the story of Kev, another 14-year-old who was abandoned by his mom at a young age and currently lives at a shelter. Steven, a child of divorced parents, is Jake’s "best friend." Stacey and Ellie, who go to Castle Rock middle school too, and others The story gives us a glimpse into the minds and thoughts of these teens, as well as into the challenges they face and the choices they make.<br/>
<br/>
There were many positive things about this book, <I><s></s>Castle Rock Kingdom<e></e></I>, written by Andrew J. Boyd. It was socially charged. It addressed the challenges teens face in middle school. The stress of figuring out who they are, their academic life, their social life, and who they become friends with. In this book, I was made to understand that some people find it way more difficult to make friends than others, and these people run the risk of having depression due to their loneliness. This book served as a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the kids. I could read their thoughts through their narration and understand why they made some choices.<br/>
<br/>
The book also addressed societal vices like drug abuse and addiction. We also saw the scene of a mass shooting and the danger it caused to the entire public, both physically at that moment and mentally for others much later. Sexuality was also discussed in the book, along with the confusion it caused teens just figuring out life. All in all, this was a book I learned a lot from.<br/>
<br/>
The thing I did not like about this book was that it had a very slow build-up. In the initial stages of the book, I got bored and almost regretted picking it up. But in subsequent chapters, I got engrossed and could not keep it down. Also, there were some errors in the book.<br/>
<br/>
Because of the above reasons, I rate this book <B><s></s>4 out of 5 stars<e></e></B>. The recommendation for this book is a dicey one. On the one hand, I do not want to recommend it to readers below 18 because of the strong language used in the book and the sensitive scenes; however, it is this very class of people that needs to read this book and understand the danger of not engaging in certain life-changing practices.<br/>
</r>
******
Castle Rock Kingdom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon