Official Review: Never Cry Again by Jim Cole
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Re: Official Review: Never Cry Again by Jim Cole
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A few errors in the review:Kdonegan91 wrote:[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Never Cry Again" by Jim Cole.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The novel Never Cry Again by Jim Cole is written in the historical fiction genre. The protagonist, Drew (Andrew George Simmons), has had a rough life since birth and his struggles seem to worsen with time. Drew's life starts in a brothel where he was cared for by Maude, the brothel's housemaid, and by the congregation of a nearby church. Even though it was rare for this time period, the all African-American congregation of Ebenezer Church of God in Jesus Christ accepted Caucasian Drew. Although loved by many, his mother, Edith, resented that he was born and genuinely hated him. However, Drew tried his hardest to find a speck of kindness and love in his mother.. After Edith and five years old Drew move away from the brothel, his life gets much more complicated as well as lonely. In the new city, he was picked on for being so poor and for all the “Uncles” that visit his mom. Drew was unloved, unwanted, and unappreciated. His only friends are the colored kids and his Japanese classmate, Kowanda. At such a young age, Drew knows more heartache and pain than most of us will ever know.
The author guides the reader throughout the rest of Drew's life which takes place in the southern Unites States during the Depression era and World War II. There are many twist and turns along the way. Did Drew improve his life or did he turn out just like his hateful and poverty-stricken mother? Do our choices really decide our fate or does our upbringing determine where we end up?
I applaud Jim Cole for numerous reasons. He did a superb job creating, formatting, and editing Never Cry Again. Although an averagely long book, two hundred and ninety pages, I did not find one spelling or grammatical error. Also, the author writes the book in chronological order and the chapters are titled to easily follow the timeline. However, my favorite aspect of the book is the character development. I felt Drew's pain, heartache, love, and happiness. Although, this novel does contain an abundance of characters, the author incorporates them so well that they leave a mark and you do not forget them. My favorite relationship was between Drew and his best friend, Leon. Drew is an outcast because he is so poor and his mom is the town hooker. Leon is degraded simply because of the color of his skin. However, Drew and Leon look past each others differences and choose to love one another. This creates a beautiful friendship. Also, Cole sets the backdrop perfectly. World War II and the Depression are mingled with the story just enough to keep the setting obvious.
On the other hand, I have one complaint about Never Cry Again. The single criticism is the author's use of curse words. Although, I understand some were used to create the setting and mood of that time period. I am a strong Christian and some of the words made me flinch.
I give Never Cry Again by Jim Cole a perfect 4 out of 4 stars. I simply could not have asked for a better book. While reading, I easily realized that the author poured his focus and talent into this book. I wish I could rate it a five just because I could not put it down. The excellent character development, perfect editing, superb formatting, easy progression, and the nicely incorporated backdrop make for a flawless book. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction. However, I would not recommend it to a reader under the age of eighteen because of the foul language and some of the mature events.
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Never Cry Again
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1. Should be 'twists and turns'
2. 'job creating' should be 'job by creating'
Overall looks good!
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