I received this book for free from Author to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
No Fences in Alaska by Glen Sobey Also by this author: The War Blog
Published by Independently Published on 06/06/2020
Genres: Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 414
Format: ARC
Source: Author
"A love letter to family relationships and Alaskan life, No Fences in Alaska is a gratifying young adult novel." -Foreword Reviews
"All told, readers will find No Fences in Alaska impossible to put down." -BlueInk Starred Review
Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Award - Young Adult Social Issues
Their worlds are about to come crashing down...
At sixteen years old, Harper Lyon's life is spinning out of control. She threatens her parents with suicide unless she can meet her drug-dealing boyfriend, a college student who doesn't know she's pregnant. Cooper Lyons, her estranged grandfather, lives in rural Alaska with only his dog and cat for company. He has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, and he doesn't plan on letting the disease run its course. Harper needs to escape her parents and decide what to do about the baby. She and her grandpa are worlds apart, but they may be exactly what the other needs. When Harper calls her grandfather, he welcomes the opportunity to help her and redeem his previous failure with his daughter Heather, who died from a drug overdose years ago.
Can they save each other?
For the love of all that is holy, get a box of tissues before you read this book. I’m not even kidding. You will need them, especially towards the end.
Harper Lyons may not be your “typical” teenager, but I have to say, there were a few girls like her in my high school. Chases the boys, has sex, does drugs, drinks, you name it, she’s probably done it or thought about it. But Harper doesn’t really want to be that way, does she?
This book will hit you right in the feels, if you’ll forgive the expression. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be furious. Glen Sobey writes teenage angst and problems with the best of them. Do all such stories get happy endings? No, sadly they don’t. But you’ll love the ending of this one… mostly.
The way Glen Sobey writes his books, you’d think he has some sort of personal experience with the subject matter. He doesn’t write like he’s just imagining these things, he writes like he’s lived it. Or perhaps like he knows someone who has lived these stories. This was the second novel of his I’ve read and I am determined that I’ll read more of them!
If you don’t find yourself relating to Harper, Gabriel, Cooper, Rachel, Greg, or Natalie, then I don’t know what to tell you. I found ways to related to them all and found ways to connect with all of them. Zachary… let’s just say that’s one part of the story that didn’t make me cry.
You honestly have to read this book. It’s a superb rendering of how the love of a family member, even one you don’t know very well, can lead to redemption. Definitely a 5 star read.
I received a copy of this book free from Glen Sobey in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
