Review by ArianaElaine -- Road to Delano by John DeSimone

[ArianaElaine]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Road to Delano" by John DeSimone.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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THE ROAD TO DELANO BY JOHN DESIMONE

High school senior and star basketball player Jack Duncan is full of hopes and dreams. He dreams of escaping his town of Delano, California with his girlfriend, Ella and his best friend, Adrian on a baseball scholarship. Jack lives in a once magnificent Victorian with his mother, Shirley. The home sits on a small plot of land that was once a thriving vineyard. Jack’s father Sugar Duncan is deceased, having passed away in car accident when Jack was only eight years old. Jack’s life is sent for a tailspin when he is given documents revealing his father’s death was not as black and white as it seemed. Jack, along with his best friend Adrian become embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding the treatment of workers in the valley and the people who want to maintain status quo.

I found this piece to be exceptionally well written and edited. It contained mild profanity ( page 53 “pissing”) but there was nothing extremely vulgar. The dialogue between characters felt natural and flowed like real conversation. Most of the characters felt fully fleshed out and rounded. I also found the descriptions of the environment to be mostly engaging; which helped pull me into the story without much effort. Desimone’s writing style feels retro in a sense; fitting the story he is trying to tell very well. I found the backdrop of the grape workers’ strike to be very unique and exceptionally written. While the writing was mostly engaging, there were instances in which I found it to become long winded. There were certain scenes that dragged on, while others played out much too quickly. While the story’s final scene was certainly impactful, I felt it was a bit rushed.

Overall, I found this book to be a delight to read. While it could be trimmed in certain areas and expanded upon in others; these issues were not glaring enough to be too troublesome. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I chose not to rate this book 2 out of 4 stars because I think the overall atmosphere and quality of the book is too high for that rating. I also chose not to give it 4 out of 4 stars because while I think the book is of quality, there are certain plot and pacing issues that I felt took away from some of the pivotal scenes in the book. Structurally speaking this is a great book; just with a few issues that could make it not everyone’s cup of tea.

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Road to Delano
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