Review by Joe Hadithi -- Days of the Giants by RJ Petrella

Joe Hadithi · Post by **Joe Hadithi** » 29 Nov 2018, 06:08

[Following is a volunteer review of "Days of the Giants" by RJ Petrella.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Boston City Hospital is the hospital for everyone. The poor, the uninsured, all can get quality healthcare at the hospital. When Slater applies for an internship there, he has little knowledge of the history of the hospital. All he sees at first are the rundown buildings and the never-ending streams of patients. His friend and roommate, Lindy, is keen to teach the young Slater that there’s more to being at the hospital than just practicing medicine. Working at City is a mission.

Across the street is Academy, a private hospital run by Slater’s stepfather, Mel. This hospital is different from City in many areas, from the buildings to the people who work there. When the Mayor decides to upgrade City, Mel and the health commissioner plot how to benefit from the project. Their plan will see Academy take over City and will leave a considerable amount of change in their pockets. However, when the medical personnel at City gets wind of the news, they choose to fight for their hospital.

Days of the Giants by RJ Petrella portrays the murky world of politics and how it affects the people. It is about people determined to fight for what they believe in, even if it costs them a lot.

I found Days of the Giants by RJ Petrella a brilliantly written book. The story is told through narration by the protagonist and his father. I felt that this had the effect of giving more authenticity to the story. It is easy to identify with the characters in this book, and one can feel their highs and their lows. I also like how it tackled the theme of classism, clearly bringing out both the good and the bad of it all.

There wasn’t much I did not like about the book. However, I must say that I got a bit confused by the switch between narrators at first. I got used to it and got to appreciate its use in giving the story a wider angle.

Overall, I give Days of the Giants a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I found it well written and the story itself was very captivating. I could have given the book four stars, but for the fact that it wasn’t perfect. I enjoyed this book and did not have any major complaints against it, and that was enough for me not to give it any lower rating.

I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a good book. However, people who are squeamish about hospital scenes should know that there are quite a number of those in this novel about hospitals. It is a good story and a book that a reader can read again and again.

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Days of the Giants
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Kelyn · Post by **Kelyn** » 01 Dec 2018, 02:42

I've worked in the E.R. so I can't really say that I'm squeamish about hospital situations. Even so, this book just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. It seems to involve, for lack of a better term, city/community politics. Politics, at least in books, isn't something I tend to find interesting. I think I'm going to give this one a pass but thanks for the review. Better to find out that I probably won't like it before starting to read it than after!!

Nusrat_Shabnam_ · Post by **Nusrat_Shabnam_** » 04 Dec 2018, 09:55

Hospitals scare me. So this is surely not for me. Thanks for the beautiful review! You would go a long way with your deep and thorough thinking.

Joe Hadithi · Post by **Joe Hadithi** » 10 Dec 2018, 03:07

Kelyn wrote: ↑01 Dec 2018, 02:42 I've worked in the E.R. so I can't really say that I'm squeamish about hospital situations. Even so, this book just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. It seems to involve, for lack of a better term, city/community politics. Politics, at least in books, isn't something I tend to find interesting. I think I'm going to give this one a pass but thanks for the review. Better to find out that I probably won't like it before starting to read it than after!!

Thanks for reading my review! I should probably have mentioned that the city/community politics plays second fiddle to the human politics (does that make any sense?). I would definitely recommend this book, it has a lot going for it.

Joe Hadithi · Post by **Joe Hadithi** » 10 Dec 2018, 03:13

Nusrat_Shabnam_ wrote: ↑04 Dec 2018, 09:55 Hospitals scare me. So this is surely not for me. Thanks for the beautiful review! You would go a long way with your deep and thorough thinking.

I really appreciate you for taking the time to read my review! Hospitals can be scary sometimes for me too.

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 10 Dec 2018, 06:58

Thanks for the succinct review. It is amazing what lengths people will go to, in order to have
that considerable change in their pockets! Great review - you sum up the book well.

Would you mind checking out my own review of the same book?
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