Review by MarieMc -- Crumbling Walls by Laura Strandt

[MarieMc]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Crumbling Walls" by Laura Strandt.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Crumbling Walls (The Jack and Emily Series Book 1) By: Laura Strandt


This is a work of fiction. This is a love story about Jack and Emily. Two teens in the same small town. Jack crosses Emily's path each day as he rides his bike past her house. Emily lives quietly a few blocks from Jack and keeps to herself. Jack is the second child of 6 boys and Emily is a lone child. Jack finally works up the nerve to stop and meet Emily. They become friends, but the friendship advances to a deeper relationship very quickly. I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

I was very torn about the beginning of this book. Not because of the story itself, but because I felt the beginning was rather choppy with abrupt sentence structure. I think the author was trying to establish teen thought patterns. As a mother of three teen boys it just didn't make it as true teen thought patterns. I didn't think that I would like the book very much. However I kept reading and I am very glad I did. It smooths out and becomes quite enjoyable to read.

I was also torn about a few details in the book. I didn't think the parents were all that great if they blithely let their 15-year-old son develop such an intense relationship with a girl without warning him to be careful, step back and breathe. It seemed as though he was 15 but they saw him as a 30-year-old at times. I didn't think they were believable as real parents. They were more like a set of fantasy parents. This all sounds like I didn't like the book. I did like it. I thought the writing was very well done. And I loved the concept of the story line. I just didn't quite believe the naive way in which the parents viewed their teen sons relationships and allowed them so much liberty. I think it would have seemed more real had the parents laid out a few rules.

I loved the compassion Jack's parents exhibited toward Emily. To my way of thinking Emily was much more believable than Jack and his family at times. Emily's father is a nightmare happening. I did think that Emily reacted appropriately to her father and the situation he placed her in. As brief as it was in the book I found that far more real than her relationship with Jack. Having grown up in her type of situation, I am not so sure she would be so instantly trusting of a guy as she was with Jack. As a result I felt some of Emily's reactions to situations with Jack were a bit off.

Over all I really liked the story and believe it had a good base. Situations lacked a little for me. Some relationships seemed as though they weren't based well. Even though this is a work of fiction, it was not a fantasy, therefore, I felt it would have been good to have the relationships based a bit more grounded. I would have liked a bit more back story to the situations that led Emily to live the life she was living. I really would like to rate the book 3.5 out of 4 stars. Since I can not, I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Crumbling Walls
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