Review by jerick_12 -- The Juicy Fruit Man by LaMar Going

[jerick_12]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Juicy Fruit Man" by LaMar Going.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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War does not end when the fight does. Declan learned this after returning from the Vietnam war. After winning against the enemies, he must now fight against his is inner demons to achieve peace. Will he succeed?

Declan Noakes is a war veteran who came back from the Vietnam war. The experience changed him. From being an optimistic, cheerful person, he now faces against the demons within. His only consolation comes from the Marijuana sticks (AKA the Juicy Fruit) he and some friends smuggled during his time in Thailand.

Detective Miguel Magaña and detective Ike White are two detectives tasked with locating and stopping drug activities. A tip from an acquaintance told them about the marijuana sticks that Declan possessed. This led the two to investigate him. Ben Fisher, a friend Declan hadn’t seen for a long time, decided to meet him. Their meeting, as well as the investigation conducted by the two detectives, would have a drastic effect on Declan’s life.

The Juicy Fruit Man tells the story of a man searching for peace. Although this story is fiction, LaMar Going did a fine job turning it into a reality. This almost feels like an autobiography of a war veteran in a third person’s point of view. The novel tackles sensitive issues such as mental health and drug abuse. The author did well in handling it. What I like the most is the way the author establish Declan’s character. His backstories contain memories from before and during the war, which allows me to assess how much the war traumatized him. From being a cheerful individual with a positive outlook in life, he turned into a sad, gloomy person who is dependent on drugs to maintain his sanity. Ben Fisher is another character that I liked. Just like Declan, he also underwent changes after the war. Unlike Declan, Ben turned into the type of person who wanted to grab everything while he can. Aside from those two, the other characters are also very interesting. The author made some characters appear good, but are actually bad. The action scenes are great as well. Normally, I’m not a fan of action thriller, but the author wrote the story in such a way that I could not put down the book even if I wanted to.

This novel deserved a 4 out of 4. There are some minor editing issues. Nevertheless, the content is well written and deserved a perfect score. The overall story is intricate. It is well detailed. The story contains profanity which made the conversations more realistic. I would recommend this novel to people who are fans of action thriller novels.

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The Juicy Fruit Man
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[kdstrack]

This review took an unexpected turn. The 'juicy fruit' adds a unique element of suspense and intrigue. Like you, I would wonder how much of the story is taken from personal experience. Great review! This looks interesting.

[Ashley-Osuna]

I love it when books tackle sensitive and important issues that don't only happen in books but in real life. War veterans go through a lot once they come back, having to readjust and deal with the mental issues that they sometimes develop. I really enjoyed reading your review, thank you!

[Angatia]

Congratulations. Your review is solid. I read the book and to my surprise, it didn't touched my previous profession. I like how the author carefully structured its flow.