Synopsis:
A sweeping coming-of-age tale, an epic love story and a searing thriller, all unfolding on a vast canvas.
There is a moment when childhood ends.
For Joseph ‘Patch’ Macauley and Saint Brown, it comes late one summer as Patch is abducted from their hometown. Devastated, Saint devotes her days to finding her best friend.
Held in total darkness, Patch is hopeless and alone – until he feels a hand in his. Though he never sees the girl, they fall in love. When he escapes, he’s left with only her voice and name – and promises to spend the rest of his life searching for her.
As Saint’s heart breaks for the boy she lost – and the man he becomes – she will shadow his journey, to uncover the truth behind who took him.
Over a lifetime driven by obsession, Patch and Saint must sacrifice everything for redemption, justice, and, ultimately, love – even if that means losing each other forever.
Average Score: 3.8
Review: This book was almost universally well received by our members. We all loved parts of the book, including most of the characters (Sammy was my personal favourite and I spent the last third of the book terrified that something bad was going to happen to him) and it had all the elements of a perfect story.
We all felt that the middle section of the book dragged a bit, but given that a decade had to pass one way or another, it was probably necessary. Some of the writing was a little convoluted causing some readers to re-read passages multiple times to understand what was going on. The chapters are more like scenes rather than full chunks of story which were received with mixed feelings.
The book’s twists were not easy to predict and some parts are hard to read due to the subject matter but its worth persisting for well-rounded character development and the growing of age story.
The Next Chapter Book Club 