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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
by Maya MacGregor
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
Author: Maya MacGregor
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Autistic Adopted Non-Binary MC, Black characters, Latina characters, Bisexual character, Non-binary character, Aro-Ace character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, mystery, thriller, contemporary, LGBT, queer, autism, trans
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Genre: YA Mystery Thriller
Age Relevance: 15+ (language, bullying, death, homophobia, abelism, racism, attempted murder, alcohol consumption, gore, biphobia, parental death, cancer, romance, alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in this book. There are scenes and mentions of bullying, homophobia, biphobia, abelism, and domestic violence. There are mentions of death, racism, attempted murder, parental death, cancer, alcoholism, and child neglect. Alcohol consumption is shown and there is a scene with vomit gore.
Publisher: Boyd Mills Press
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Sam Sylvester's not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.
Yet Sam's life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can't seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam's convinced he was murdered--especially since Sam's investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.
Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam's life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?
Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I thought it was a really good mystery book with a bit of spook factor in it. The book is about our main character Sam who just moved to a new town after an incident of intense bullying and more at their former town. They move with their father and life seems to be going good until they find out about a 30 year old mystery that Sam feels needs to be solved. The story follows their investigation into the mystery while also getting new threats in their seemingly better town. I really liked the story overall and the character development is where this story shines the most. The book also had really good world building.
But I did have a couple of issues. The book took a bit to pick up the pace and it was a bit confusing in the beginning. The book also was very wordy and repeated a lot, which caused a bit of my confusion as well.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!
Book: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
Author: Maya MacGregor
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Autistic Adopted Non-Binary MC, Black characters, Latina characters, Bisexual character, Non-binary character, Aro-Ace character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, mystery, thriller, contemporary, LGBT, queer, autism, trans
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Genre: YA Mystery Thriller
Age Relevance: 15+ (language, bullying, death, homophobia, abelism, racism, attempted murder, alcohol consumption, gore, biphobia, parental death, cancer, romance, alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in this book. There are scenes and mentions of bullying, homophobia, biphobia, abelism, and domestic violence. There are mentions of death, racism, attempted murder, parental death, cancer, alcoholism, and child neglect. Alcohol consumption is shown and there is a scene with vomit gore.
Publisher: Boyd Mills Press
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Sam Sylvester's not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.
Yet Sam's life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can't seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam's convinced he was murdered--especially since Sam's investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.
Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam's life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?
Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I thought it was a really good mystery book with a bit of spook factor in it. The book is about our main character Sam who just moved to a new town after an incident of intense bullying and more at their former town. They move with their father and life seems to be going good until they find out about a 30 year old mystery that Sam feels needs to be solved. The story follows their investigation into the mystery while also getting new threats in their seemingly better town. I really liked the story overall and the character development is where this story shines the most. The book also had really good world building.
But I did have a couple of issues. The book took a bit to pick up the pace and it was a bit confusing in the beginning. The book also was very wordy and repeated a lot, which caused a bit of my confusion as well.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!