4 out of 4 stars
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Boy: A journey of love, friendship and little white lies, discovered while in the fight against the monster Dementia, by Anna Hamilton is aptly titled. This fiction novel was inspired by the author’s experience of taking care of her father who battled with dementia before he passed away.
Hamilton named one of the protagonists after her father, Hugh. In Boy, Hugh is the caretaker of his beloved wife, Betty Lou Roberts, who is going through the later stages of dementia. This can be a very depressing task, as one of the main symptoms of dementia is the loss of memory. A few weeks before Thanksgiving Day, the Roberts welcome a peculiar guest that sparks Betty’s memory and allows us to be privy to the joy that one can experience even when dealing with a loved one struggling with dementia.
There are a number of subplots included in this story. I don’t think that I can go into detail without providing spoilers. However, I can say all of the characters are interconnected somehow. Hamilton did a spectacular job bringing every character to life. Her use of dialogue to advance the storyline and flesh out the characters was superb. There were many humorous comments that made me laugh out loud. At one point in time, I could not read the words on the page because I was teary-eyed. However, after wiping my tears, I could easily picture every scenario. It is hard to believe that this is the author’s first novel.
The author independently published Boy earlier this year. That being said, I did not spot any noteworthy grammatical errors so, I believe that the book was professionally edited. Anna and her sister, Sarah Hamilton, were responsible for the cover and book design. The book cover is simple but appealing. I was also pleased with the formatting of the book. There was no table of contents but numerous headings throughout the book allowed me to track my progress and have an idea of the direction the story was going. However, I did feel that the pages were too wordy because the lines were single-spaced and the paragraphs were only distinguished by an indentation.
Moreover, the author plans to dedicate part of the proceeds of this book to building affordable houses for her community. Amazon.com has both a paperback edition available for $7.99USD and a Kindle edition for $3.99 USD.
In conclusion, I rate Boy 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this novel to everyone who has a loved one suffering from a mental illness. Readers who want to go on a "feel trip" are also invited.
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Boy
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