The Scarecrow & George C
Mia Kerick
Publication date: June 3rd 2019
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, New Adult, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Told in the first person. Alternating persons.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this
book for review from Xpresso Book Tours and the author. I was not
compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The
opinions I have expressed are my own. I am posting this in
accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part
255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and
Testimonials in Advertising".
High school senior Van Liss is barely human. He thinks of himself as a scarecrow—ragged and unnerving, stuck, and destined to spend his life cold and alone. If he ever had feelings, they were stomped out long ago by his selfish mother and her lecherous boyfriend. All he’s been left with is bitter contempt, to which he clings.
With a rough exterior long used to keep the world at bay, Van spooks George Curaco, the handsome new frycook at the diner where he works. But George C senses there is more to the untouchable Van and refuses to stop staring, fascinated by his eccentricity. When Van learns that George C is even more cold, alone, and frightened than himself, Van welcomes him to his empty home. And ends up finding his heart.
Their road to trust is rocky and, at times, even dangerous. And looming evil threatens to keep them apart forever.
Fair warning: You may want to strap in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
—
*All proceeds of this book go to charity: True Colors United.
“True Colors United implements innovative solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people.”
My Thoughts:
Donovan “Van” Liss talks to the reader as if they’re there with
him. I found it interesting how he sees
the way he acts as a deterrent but as he lets us into his world I found it to
be the opposite. First thing I thought
was what was the trigger that caused him to makes the choices he made. That was the moment that I felt the author
put out some bait to get the reader to turn the page.
I found he had an interesting job choice. Even though he wants to be left alone, I
think he’s saying “see me, here I am”. He
may not like it but Van’s story touched my heart and it might yours as
well. George C is an important
character. He’s needed to show us Van’s
humanity. He tries to keep it locked
down but I think you’ll see that some things just can’t be locked away. George has his own issues. The difference between these two is that Van
doesn’t mind letting us into his secrets and George seemed almost reluctant.
Sometimes kids don’t feel as if they have someone to tell their
troubles to. The reader becomes that ear. Something else Van may not like but I thought
of him as a flower. First he starts as a
tightly closed bud but as the story progresses we see the bud slowly open. With George maybe he’s the water. Flowers need water in order to grow and
flourish and maybe that is what he becomes.
What’s sad about this story is that we have young men that feel
they can’t speak out. It may make you
question, how well do you know the people around you. Do they tell you everything about
themselves? Do they have secrets? As with the church scandals that keep coming
out, how many years have to go by before people feel they can say
something. Something else that’s sad is
that the adults either don’t believe or come to conclusions before ever asking
if they have problems and can they help.
Maybe it will even have you questioning, what would you do?
If you’re looking for something different from what you’ve read
before, I think you might want to think about this book. If you don’t mind that both main characters
are male, you might find it worth a look.
I almost passed on the chance to read and I’m glad I changed my
mind. It’s not a story that would have
you say, “oh, that would never happen”.
I think it’s a great story that shows we need to work on diversity and
inclusion. Where behavior, and the way a
person dresses, is concerned maybe ask questions not make conclusions – or even
just say “I’m here if you ever want to talk”.
Be a support system instead of a judge.
Author Bio:Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—one in law school, another a professional dancer, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son, heading off to college. (Yes, the nest is finally empty.) She has published more than twenty books of LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing scholarship essays. Her husband of twenty-five years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it’s a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled people in complex relationships. She has a great affinity for the tortured hero in literature, and as a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of tortured heroes and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to her wonderful publishers for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.
Her books have been featured in Kirkus Reviews magazine, and have won Rainbow Awards for Best Transgender Contemporary Romance and Best YA Lesbian Fiction, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, a Story Monsters Purple Dragonfly Award for Young Adult e-book Fiction, among other awards.
Mia Kerick is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology. Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com or visit at www.miakerickya.com to see what is going on in Mia’s world.
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Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks you so much for your awesome review and for hosting my book!!
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