Review by _khush_p -- Dreams Are To Be Lived
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_khush_p
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Review by _khush_p -- Dreams Are To Be Lived
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dreams Are To Be Lived" by Jerry A. Greenberg.]
Written by Jerry A. Greenberg, Dreams Are To Be Lived is an amazing story revolving around the main character, Bobby. Bobby is a normal 17-year-old boy who loves art and is very passionate about following it as his career. However, his father disapproves of it which leaves Bobby with no choice but to convince his father in any which way possible. This book is about Bobby’s passion for art, his father’s apathy and dislike for the same, and both of them going through several ups and downs regarding the aforementioned passion.
The story starts with some uneventful character building where readers get to learn that Bobby is a teen sensible enough to turn down the offer of his best friend becoming his girlfriend. In the first few chapters, it also becomes common knowledge that Bobby is crazy talented when it comes to art and would love to follow it as his career. This decision sparks a mild dispute between him and his father. His father, coming from a struggling and poor household, had never gotten the chance to live his dreams since he could only invest himself into earning a livelihood. Despite their dispute over the topic of an art career, Bobby tries to persuade his father, which unexpectedly leads to his father having a nervous breakdown. When trying to treat him, Bobby discovers a plethora of secrets that eventually led to his father being in the mental state that he is in now. All the secrets and mysteries about Bobby’s father finally fall into place throughout the story, which is surely going to leave all the readers in awe. Despite being categorised as other fiction, Dreams Are To Be Lived became a suspense thriller for me and I enjoyed every single part of it.
Coming to the technicalities, let’s first talk about things that I loved. Although the story is centered on Bobby’s life, the author did a great job at balancing all the other characters. Every character seems to be playing an important role, making the story very interesting. Greenberg has a writing style that feels soothing to the reader. The plot moves from one scene to another very smoothly and has a great pace too. At no point did my reading journey feel bumpy, or too slow, or too speedy. It was just perfect and I appreciate the author for that. The story is from Bobby’s point of view, but the author is very kind in explaining scenarios from a third person’s point of view. Greenberg has also included parts where the characters are either thinking or reading something. This helps in providing more base for the story and increases the overall reading experience. I loved that the story is based on such a relatable topic: kids wanting to pursue their dreams but being held back by several responsibilities and the fear of not earning enough. I enjoyed how the character of Bobby was smart, goal-driven, and passionate enough to not give up.
Despite loving this book, there are a couple of things that I disliked. Firstly, some dialogues seemed very plain. In some places it was difficult to determine what the characters were feeling and how eagerly or indifferently they were saying things. If it wasn’t mentioned already, the reader would have to guess it. Another thing that I disliked was the number of typing errors. For example, in a certain dialogue, Bobby talks in third person while talking about his own life, which proved to be confusing to me. I could find places where the start and/or end quote marks were missing. This leads me to believe that the book needs some more editing. Other than this, the intensity of the story was something that I enjoyed, but some readers might not. There are mentions of abuse, mental illness, cruel treatment by family, and others that might trigger some readers. So, sensitive readers need to watch out for that. Very few curse words appear throughout the story and the sexual content was limited to on-page kissing and mentions of sex. Because of this, the book can become both a go or a no-go for young readers, depending on what they can handle.
Keeping in mind all the above points, I rate Dreams Are To Be Lived a 3 out of 4 stars, one star was taken off for all the typing errors. This book was an amazing read for me, I loved everything about it and would recommend it to readers who want relatable stories and can handle the suspense and thrill. Sincere thanks to the author for such a great work.
******
Dreams Are To Be Lived
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Written by Jerry A. Greenberg, Dreams Are To Be Lived is an amazing story revolving around the main character, Bobby. Bobby is a normal 17-year-old boy who loves art and is very passionate about following it as his career. However, his father disapproves of it which leaves Bobby with no choice but to convince his father in any which way possible. This book is about Bobby’s passion for art, his father’s apathy and dislike for the same, and both of them going through several ups and downs regarding the aforementioned passion.
The story starts with some uneventful character building where readers get to learn that Bobby is a teen sensible enough to turn down the offer of his best friend becoming his girlfriend. In the first few chapters, it also becomes common knowledge that Bobby is crazy talented when it comes to art and would love to follow it as his career. This decision sparks a mild dispute between him and his father. His father, coming from a struggling and poor household, had never gotten the chance to live his dreams since he could only invest himself into earning a livelihood. Despite their dispute over the topic of an art career, Bobby tries to persuade his father, which unexpectedly leads to his father having a nervous breakdown. When trying to treat him, Bobby discovers a plethora of secrets that eventually led to his father being in the mental state that he is in now. All the secrets and mysteries about Bobby’s father finally fall into place throughout the story, which is surely going to leave all the readers in awe. Despite being categorised as other fiction, Dreams Are To Be Lived became a suspense thriller for me and I enjoyed every single part of it.
Coming to the technicalities, let’s first talk about things that I loved. Although the story is centered on Bobby’s life, the author did a great job at balancing all the other characters. Every character seems to be playing an important role, making the story very interesting. Greenberg has a writing style that feels soothing to the reader. The plot moves from one scene to another very smoothly and has a great pace too. At no point did my reading journey feel bumpy, or too slow, or too speedy. It was just perfect and I appreciate the author for that. The story is from Bobby’s point of view, but the author is very kind in explaining scenarios from a third person’s point of view. Greenberg has also included parts where the characters are either thinking or reading something. This helps in providing more base for the story and increases the overall reading experience. I loved that the story is based on such a relatable topic: kids wanting to pursue their dreams but being held back by several responsibilities and the fear of not earning enough. I enjoyed how the character of Bobby was smart, goal-driven, and passionate enough to not give up.
Despite loving this book, there are a couple of things that I disliked. Firstly, some dialogues seemed very plain. In some places it was difficult to determine what the characters were feeling and how eagerly or indifferently they were saying things. If it wasn’t mentioned already, the reader would have to guess it. Another thing that I disliked was the number of typing errors. For example, in a certain dialogue, Bobby talks in third person while talking about his own life, which proved to be confusing to me. I could find places where the start and/or end quote marks were missing. This leads me to believe that the book needs some more editing. Other than this, the intensity of the story was something that I enjoyed, but some readers might not. There are mentions of abuse, mental illness, cruel treatment by family, and others that might trigger some readers. So, sensitive readers need to watch out for that. Very few curse words appear throughout the story and the sexual content was limited to on-page kissing and mentions of sex. Because of this, the book can become both a go or a no-go for young readers, depending on what they can handle.
Keeping in mind all the above points, I rate Dreams Are To Be Lived a 3 out of 4 stars, one star was taken off for all the typing errors. This book was an amazing read for me, I loved everything about it and would recommend it to readers who want relatable stories and can handle the suspense and thrill. Sincere thanks to the author for such a great work.
******
Dreams Are To Be Lived
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: The King of May by Matthew Tysz
