Heather’s Bookshelf: The Girl from Jersey City
Author: Zan Austin
Released: 05/17/24
Genre: Suspense Romance
“In the cool shadowed cave, she brushed against me, a subtle friction, but the signal to take her hand. I pulled her through the pilings, until we ran, two children out of darkness, laughing at nothing but the joke of being young, invincible and living forever.”
“The Girl from Jersey City” introduces Paul Nesbitt, a seventeen-year-old trying to survive his upbringing in small Jersey Shore city.
Paul’s father’s an alcoholic and abusive. His mother’s called the cops several times, but nothing much is ever done and each time he returns to the house. Having made some poor decisions in the past, Paul’s vowed to turn his life around and make something more of himself. Those around him seem to have other ideas.
Paul meets Laura, a young woman attending college in the city. He can’t help but lie to try to impress her. At first it seemed to be working, but her family isn’t as impressed and eventually the truth trickles out. Meanwhile, every decision he makes seems to accompany terrible consequences. Will the truth finally catch up with Paul and will he lose everything?
Trigger Warning: violence, animal violence, adult/sexist/racist/discriminatory language, domestic/child abuse, alcoholism, reference to abortion
Overall, I was a little torn by this book. This is not exactly an uplifting one, but it’s thought provoking, character-driven and dramatic. Paul is an intriguing and relatable protagonist. He’s flawed, makes dumb and terrible decisions, but ultimately just wants love and safety. Unable to achieve this at home, he seeks it elsewhere and ends up making even more poor decisions to try to correct his actions. There are some very sad and disturbing themes throughout the story. It’s not a happy-go-lucky tale. Every time you think it couldn’t quite get any worse, it does. And for some reason, I still found myself rooting for Paul. Though many of the ancillary characters are not on the forefront of the plot, they still shine through the pages. However, there’s a couple including Laura that were not as clear or well-developed limiting the reader’s connection and the importance of their role. My biggest difficulty with the book was the pacing as well as the ending. This story really doesn’t end. It felt like I started a series on episode 2 of season 2 and then finished on episode 8 when there should have been 12. I’m not sure why the story started or ended when it did. I understood the character’s hint at an evolution, but after so many terrible decisions, one fair one didn’t seem to even it out nor did it seem lifechanging or final. The ending felt too open ended and rushed for me.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A character-driven book about a young man who makes poor decisions and gets swept up both those around him. A rushed and incomplete ending as well as pacing difficulties drag down this dark themed tale.
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