4 out of 4 stars
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Islands in the Grass is an exemplary novel about family by Arviss R. Stuart. War, as we all know, has its casualties. Steve Sharpe is an Army Ranger nicknamed "Cowboy" by his wife MaryAnn, a former Army Medic. Billy, a dear friend of Steve's, has been killed in action. His death brings with it the promise Steve made to take care of his daughter if anything should happen to him. His last assignment is burial detail, after which he will be officially discharged after nine years of active duty.
Being the sixth generation of Clark Ranch, it is up to MaryAnn to ensure the future of her inheritance. During the war, she finds the perfect solution in Steve. Over several years, we are taken through their lives as they raise an adopted girl along with three other children. Steve works himself to death to get the ranch going again. He doesn't mind putting his children to work as well. For a while, the future of the ranch is Steve's only concern; then the unthinkable happens. A terminal illness threatens to take the very foundation of the family away.
It is novels like these that keep reminding me why I love reading at all. I was absolutely taken aback by this captivating story with its many underlying messages and lessons about what it truly means to be family. To add to this beautiful novel, we are introduced to people with inherent abilities to see into the future as well. Steve is one of them. He knows things before they happen. The author succeeds in making this magical character trait only a small part of the book, taking absolutely nothing away from what this story is truly about.
I must say that I really didn't like the first half of the book at all. The novel starts off like a war story and the author floods his storyline with death after death. Getting my mind around all these deaths was exhausting. Sometimes I found it hard to keep track of what was happening. The dialog was the hardest thing about the book to follow. While the beginning served as necessary background about Steve and his life in the military, my initial thought was that most of it was just too confusing to comprehend. Scenes seemed to alternate back and forth between time, always leaving me to guess when and where exactly I was.
The second half of the book was an entirely different experience altogether, which is the main reason I'm going to give this book a high rating. The first half explains a lot, but somewhere in the middle of the book, the real journey finally begins. The writing suddenly becomes a good stretch better. This book has a lot of memorable scenes, jaw-dropping revelations, and unexpected developments that will keep readers entranced. I recommend this book to everyone, even if war stories are not their thing. This book is about family, not war. My rating is 4 out of 4.
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Islands in the Grass
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