Official Review: Mill Creek by Patrick John Donahoe

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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Official Review: Mill Creek by Patrick John Donahoe

Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mill Creek" by Patrick John Donahoe.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Mill Creek by Patrick John Donahoe follows the life of Michael Dunne. The first part of the book narrates Michael’s childhood spent in Cleveland under the influence of his deranged mother, the second part deals with the later years of his boyhood spent with his father and grandparents, and the third and final part continues his story in Mill Creek at West Virginia. This narrative is interspersed with a parallel storyline which shows the life of Jedidiah Weiser, a veteran of the Korean War, who after suffering much at the hands of his enemies returns to live in Mill Creek. This is the place where Michael’s path and Jed’s path finally cross and affect each other in unimaginable ways.

This novel is marked as a historical fiction in Online Book Club bookshelves and as a thriller on the author’s website. To avoid confusion, I should mention that the book contains a suspenseful tale culminating in a thrilling climax, while at the same time it narrates the history of West Virginia to some extent. It can also be considered a coming-of-age story as it shows the gradual emotional development of the protagonist. The inclusion of war scenes, experiences in prison camps, and a little romance makes the story touch almost all the genres.

Donahoe does a good work showing the transition of Michael’s character from a sickly child afraid of monsters to a brave and mature young boy. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the story unfold from Michael’s point of view. His insightful observations about every little thing would mesmerize the readers. The turning points of his life are painted so realistically that the readers can actually feel the thrill of his first hunt or the awkwardness of his first romantic experience. I was especially moved by some of his considerably mature thoughts such as-
“…if everybody looked at the whole human race as cousins, everyone might get along better”
“…why people couldn’t just do things for themselves, and thank God for the opportunities that life provided.”
Subtle moral lessons such as the importance of family and neighbors, the value of patience and compassion are emphasized again and again through Michael’s experiences.

Another character that Donahoe has sketched masterfully is that of Rita, Michael’s deranged mother. The accounts of her ruthless behavior and obvious contempt towards her children are chilling. But when the author lets us peek into the incessant gibberish of her addled brain, we cannot help feeling sympathetic towards her.


I found a few negative points in the book. First of all, the pace was not consistent throughout the entire novel. The second part, in particular, seemed unnecessarily dragged. This feeling was accentuated by the long stretches of passive narration from Michael’s point of view without any dialogue to liven it up. Secondly, narratives of Jed’s life kept disrupting Michael’s story abruptly without any apparent connection between the two storylines. At the end of part two, we finally realize that both of them are coming to live in Mill Creek. In fact, Mill Creek itself is not even mentioned in the book before that point.

In my opinion, the chapters and chapter breaks could have been arranged in a more compact way. Also, the ending seemed too abrupt, as if the author realized he had to end the book and hastily tied up the loose ends in the last few pages.

I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I deduct one star because of the aberrant chapter breaks, inconsistent flow, and abrupt ending. Otherwise, this was a very pleasant read. From a technical standpoint, this book had only a couple of missing words and missing quotation marks which did not detract from the reading experience. All in all, I think this is a suitable book for young adults and adults alike. Any person who loves a character-driven story can take up this book.

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Mill Creek
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Post by Debjani Ghosh »

I like character-driven stories but disjointed structure of the plot is a big no-no for me, hence, i will skip this one. Thanks for the honest review!
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Debjani Ghosh wrote: 18 Sep 2018, 01:30 I like character-driven stories but disjointed structure of the plot is a big no-no for me, hence, i will skip this one. Thanks for the honest review!
Thanks for commenting, Debjani!
This plot structure was really disappointing, because apart from that, the story was beautiful, the characters were well-sketched. In some places, the book even reminded me of 'To Kill A Mockingbird', probably because of the moral lessons Michael gets. However, this book could have been a far greater read!
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Post by Sunnyroyish »

Well-written and informative review. Your constructive criticism about the book seems credible to me. I think you've done a great job and I wish you good luck for your future projects.
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Sunnyroyish wrote: 18 Sep 2018, 06:19 Well-written and informative review. Your constructive criticism about the book seems credible to me. I think you've done a great job and I wish you good luck for your future projects.
Thank you Sunny, both for expressing your opinion and for wishing me luck! Much appreciated!
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Post by Espie »

The experiences of the past could be as saddening as it seemed to be for this book's characters. However, the lessons gleanable from the story would be noteworthy. Thank you for your insightful review.
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Espie wrote: 18 Sep 2018, 08:00 The experiences of the past could be as saddening as it seemed to be for this book's characters. However, the lessons gleanable from the story would be noteworthy. Thank you for your insightful review.
Thank you Espie for commenting. Yes, their past histories were terrible, but it was intriguing to see how that had changed one for worse, but the other grew up to be more mature because of his sad past.
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Post by Connie Otwani »

I can't imagine what it was like for the protagonist to grow up under a deranged mother. I just wish the book didn't have the disjointed narration interruptions by 2 characters. It can get to me. Great review!
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Post by prince10 »

It's quite absurd that the main character was raised up by a deranged mum...although the story sounds disorganized...I like the review
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Cotwani wrote: 19 Sep 2018, 07:19 I can't imagine what it was like for the protagonist to grow up under a deranged mother. I just wish the book didn't have the disjointed narration interruptions by 2 characters. It can get to me. Great review!
Thanks Cotwani! Yes, it was very painful to read about Michael's experiences with his mother and his almost resigned reactions to negligence from her part. But I suppose those initial experiences were what made him more mature. I have also read that children who are victims to abuse tend to be more observant. Michael's character actually meets that criterion.
As for the disjointed narration, it was irritating at times. But since the pace was comparatively fast, it did not create much of a problem in the end.
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

prince10 wrote: 19 Sep 2018, 09:15 It's quite absurd that the main character was raised up by a deranged mum...although the story sounds disorganized...I like the review
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Although disorganized for a considerable part, the story was nonetheless very beautiful. Also the pace was not that slow, so I think it still is a very good read!
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Post by jcoad »

I enjoy historical fiction and learning about different eras and areas through good stories. Being from Ohio I may read this story as basically set in my neck of the woods. Thanks for the thorough and honest review!
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Post by stacie k »

There seems to be a lot going on with this book! I would appreciate the moral lessons. I’m sure I would feel both horrified and sympathetic toward Rita. Thank you for sharing your insights about this book!
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

jcoad wrote: 24 Sep 2018, 06:58 I enjoy historical fiction and learning about different eras and areas through good stories. Being from Ohio I may read this story as basically set in my neck of the woods. Thanks for the thorough and honest review!
Wow, then I suppose this one will be perfectly suitable for you!
Thanks for the comment.
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

stacie k wrote: 24 Sep 2018, 20:45 There seems to be a lot going on with this book! I would appreciate the moral lessons. I’m sure I would feel both horrified and sympathetic toward Rita. Thank you for sharing your insights about this book!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Yes, it was very horrifying yet heartbreaking to read about her. It is a pain to watch Michael go through all that!
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