Brandon Jeffrey's summer is off to a rough start he is working two jobs to pay off his wrecked car, while avoiding his alcoholic father as much as possible.
A local boy is murdered, and Brandon's friend Devon has more than a few ideas about who might be involved. And then there is Marvella, or Marvel as she likes to be called, a uniquely beautiful bright spot in Brandon's life, and when she is around miraculous things happen.
What does it all mean?
Brandon is a likeable soccer jock, he tends to float in the middle, not popular, but not unpopular either. His homelife is less than ideal, and he does his best to hide that part of his life from others. Brandon is smitten by Marvel, who is unlike any other girl he has met before (I know, I know it sounds cliche), he is drawn to something in her that he has never encountered before and also sees a kindred spirit. I liked how he is honest about his past, and through his point of view we see how he has never quite fit in, but he also hasn't not fit in.
This was a highly engaging read that as the first of a series left me with more questions than it answered, which for the first book in the series is a positive. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and I thought that they characters were very well developed in a way that let you know that all of the supporting members of this book lived full lives outside of what we saw, like Harry in the record shop, Frank, Seth, and Devon, which fit well with the first person narrative. I know I'm kinda late to the party with this book, but many of the pop culture references aged decently--especially the brief mention of Donald Trump, and I thought the texting was integrated well.
Marvel is a girl who is like a ray of sunshine, but honest, careful, and perceptive. I also like that she is mysterious and sees the best in others, but can also be vulnerable.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and by the end didn't want to put it down. I was very sad to find that I may have to do some serious hunting to find the rest of the series right now as at the time of this review we are in the midst of the COVID-19 situation. I'm interested to see where this series goes and how the faith themes will be expanded upon, as well as spiritual warfare, as that seems to be the direction the series is headed. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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