Review by Christina Clayton -- 2612 Cherryhill Lane

[Christina Clayton]

[Following is a volunteer review of "2612 Cherryhill Lane" by Glenn Vo.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Jonathan is a football hero in the small town of Katy, Texas. His future is bright and he is on top of the world until one seemingly insignificant action changes the course of his entire life. 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo is an engaging story of how the simplest actions can shape your future, and how you can never out run your past. However, if you're willing to put in the work, you can make your future anything you want it to be. With God, faith, love, and determination you can always change your path.

I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. My favorite part of this book lies in its ability to remind us to look beyond ourselves; to reach for help when it's needed and not just sit wallowing in self pity and despair. I did not give this book 4 stars as my least favorite part was how the characters lacked depth in the beginning chapters. Objects and people were either over explained or under explained at times, such as using the character's name repeatedly when it was unnecessary or giving characters names who never reappear in the story and have no bearing on the plot. I also found a couple continuity errors within the story that left me with questions.

It wasn't until chapter 12 that I finally felt invested in the characters and their individual story lines. Jonathan and his cast of friends began to dig deeper and become more real. I feel that Jonathan's parents were barely explored. I would have liked to have been given more insight into how they felt, how they coped with Jonathan's actions, and generally given more overall character development.

The descriptions of football culture deep in the heart of Texas are spot-on. The portrayals of local places and seasonal details were extremely accurate and painted a real-life portrait of the typical Texas football family residing in the quintessential football community. Young male readers would be drawn in by the frequent use of football statistics and the use of video games to relate to real life situations.

I feel this book is best suited to the young adult audience as it really expresses some of the struggles of being young, yet lacks the character intensity to really grab the attention of the mature adult reader. As Mr. Vo's freshman publication, I see room for improvement. However, I would be ready and willing to read his next book.

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2612 Cherryhill Lane
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