Spoiler-Free Review: Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence Date Started - 25/7/2019 Date Finished - 27/7/2019 Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Marlon has promised his widowed mum that he'll be good, and nothing like his gang-leader brother Andre. It's easy when you keep yourself to yourself, listening to your dead dad's Earth, Wind and Fire albums and watching sci-fi. But everything changes when Marlon's first date with the beautiful Sonya ends in tragedy; he becomes a hunted man and he has no idea why. With his dad dead and his brother helpless, Marlon has little choice but to enter Andre's old world of guns, knives and drug runs in order to uncover the truth and protect those close to him. It's time to fight to be the last man standing. Review: Do you have those books on your TBR that you picked up because you heard amazing things, but put off reading cause you're kinda worried you're gonna be that person that just doesn't like it? Orangeboy was one of those books for me. I've had it sitting on my shelf for quite a long time and I finally decided to bite the bullet and give it a read during the Reading Rush. And I really enjoyed it. It was super easy to get into and this was something I needed in a book following a major reading slump. The pacing of the book was spot on and things began to happen quite fast and it all started building up, but this reflected the high emotions that the main character Marlon was feeling. It made it seem like he was sharing that sense of panic and loss of control with you and it made the book hit me on a different level. I really felt for Marlon and the situation he was placed in. The book definitely deals with some heavy topics - drugs, death, violence, gang violence, weapons, but I'm glad Lawrence didn't shy away from these topics and instead made them the focus of the story. Along with these topics, there's a big focus on family and how easily families can be torn apart (or brought back together later) due to these issues. They are sensitive topics but I think they were dealt with incredibly well and a story like this is so prominent in society today and it's definitely one of those reads that I think everyone should give a go. Anyone who reads this will respect how important the story is, regardless of background. I loved Lawrence's writing style and the portrayal of the characters and it's definitely made me keen to give her other work a read as well as keep an eye out for the future. This book really opened my eyes to some topics and I'm glad I finally gave it a chance. Rate - 4/5 GR - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25699515-orangeboy?from_search=true BD - https://www.bookdepository.com/Orangeboy/9781444927207
2 Comments
I have so many books I'm 'scared' to pick up on my TBR because of the hype! This book sounds fab though, and glad you ended up enjoying it (It's always the worst when books aren't just bad but disapointing because of hype!). I'm especially intrigued by the heavy topic focus! x
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AuthorHello and welcome to Books With Beth! I'm Beth and on this blog I share a mix of all my bookish thoughts through reviews, book tours and hauls. Have fun! Categories
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