4 out of 4 stars
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Children are crying and in shock. Vane Sarge Walker arrives at the scene along with the Mount Vernon Volunteer Fire Department. Ashley, a three-year-old, seems to be the current victim of the pill mill tree of shame. Ashley's doll is found with a broken neck. Sarge promises to get to the root of the matter and bring the culprits to justice. Who are the brains behind the pill mill? Is Ashley the only one affected?
Samantha, Sarge's granddaughter, is required to keep a journal to stay out of jail. She asks Mr. Stephens not to burn her journal as he said he would. Through this journal, we learn about her boyfriend Jasper and how she had been the subject of ridicule because of her height. What more is there to discover about Samantha? What secrets can a simple journal hold? Read this book to find out more.
Jellybeaners by Gene Scott holds a special place in my heart because of the numerous positive aspects I found while reading the book. The book captures growth in teenagers as I watched the characters grow and make certain decisions due to this growth. I loved Samantha as a character. She was brilliant and knowledgeable. I learned a lot about history from her. She talked about things that would have prevented the invasion of the Taliban and how people leaving things incomplete can cause issues. She had a disdain for addiction to drugs and technology as she felt that teenagers were losing most of their time to the internet while missing out on life.
I took a liking to Sarge's personal identification phrase, "don't start what you can't finish." The book covers a lot of themes like corruption. It talked about how criminals benefit from loopholes in acts and laws and how some officials are willing to bend the laws for money and other enticements. Samantha talks about how reliance on drugs can be curbed, and it was devastating to discover the percentage of people addicted to drugs. It also takes about domestic violence, love, and betrayal. A theme I found very noteworthy was the theme of rape. Although this was not discussed in a lengthy manner, I could see why some rape victims refuse to sue, and I was unhappy about the questions that the judge asked the culprit as I believe that a victim of rape shouldn't be accused of being the cause of their pain.
I found only an error while reading this book, and the only problem I encountered was that I found it challenging to understand the story at first; however, the author quickly resolved the situation.
Since I cannot find any reason to deduct any star from my rating, I rate this book four out of four stars. It was an informative and worthwhile read for me. I recommend the book to anyone interested in crime-related novels and anyone suffering from an addiction. This book would prove to be a life changer.
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Jellybeaners
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