Boomer’s Book Reviews – Drawn

       Drawn By: James Hankins

“This book is for my sons, Alex and Zachary, who won’t be old enough to read it for many years but whose appropriately childlike wonder — which constantly makes me question the impossible — helped me to write it.

—–Opening dedication  as written by James Hankins

As “punny”, and corny as this will sound, I was “drawn” into the story from page one. I do mean that literally. Drawn starts off, with intruige and that flair of mystery right from the start. It kept my attention, and would not let go. An important thing in many stories is the characters, and let me tell you…… this story has some great protaganists, unsung heroes, and development. You really develop a certain bond with the characters, and they quickly become great imaginary friends.

This novel starts with the character Alice, who is a painter. A young boy shows up in a painting she had been working on. The rather peculiar thing about that, is she has no recollection of painting him, let alone seeing him at the park she used as her inspiration. Baffled, and a bit awestruck, Alice doesn’t  really understand how the memory of this “muse”, just faded away. This child begins to show up in more, and more of her work. Just like before, she can’t  seem to remember  painting him.  Alice’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she needs to find some answers. Imagine that, the same boy  appearing out of nowhere, finding his way into world, metaphorically  speaking.

I now would like to mention my favourite  character of this novel Boone Forrester. I absolutly loved, the way Hankins made him grow.  Talk about awesome character development!!!

Boone is like that odd guy out, you wouldn’t  really see being a hero, but he goes through some great leaps and bounds by the end of this book. Boone’s point of view starts in the bar, that is located under his home. He is a very solitary person, his only real friend is the bartender/owner of the establishment  Kenny. A horrific car accident causes Boone to be both deformed, and substantially blinded. The accident, and its unfavourable circumstances  would explain his reclusive behaviour.  On top of it all Boone suffers from agoraphobia. If you are unsure what that means, let me break it down for you. Its a mental condition in which one is afraid to leave thier home, or shall I say bubble. Even walking across the street, can give one an immense panic attack. Anyways, Boone notices some strange things happening  in his house. These occurances seem in a way, paranormal.  Its as if he is now beimg haunted, and he has no idea why, or what is trying to send him a message.

The next character  introduced in Drawn is Nathan Zeltner. He is an older man, who has lived his life, and is now living alone. His first  P.O.V chapter begins with him trying to return a clock, because it ticks. Sure, that sounds odd as most clocks tick, and tock, and make some audible click. It seems like he just wants to live the rest of his days, in quiet, reserved peace. Eventually Nathan starts to have these reoccurring dreams. These dreams involve his son Jeremy, who went missing and, he once believed to be dead. He takes these dreams as a sign from Jeremy. Like hes calling out to him. Nathan feels as if Jeremy is now very much alive, and needs his help. 

Another character I really liked is Miguel.  Migeul is the fourth and final character that has his own P.O.V chapters (actually now that I mention it, i am fairly certain the bad guy has a few chapters aswell. — but hes a cruel monster, so we dont need to focus much on him. He isn’t one of the main character’s in which this story centers around.) Ok, back to the point…lol

Miguels first chapter sheds quite a bit of light, on how he lives day to day life, and how he got there. The chapter begins with him arguing with another boy, for some food. This boy is bigger then Miguel, but Miguel is tough, and has no fear. Considering  both boys are homeless they decide to share the meal. Yes I said it, homeless. Miguel is a twelve year old boy, without a home. His home life wasn’t that great, so he runs away. Being on your own at twelve is hard, let alone doing it without a constant roof over your head. The boys do bond, but it is quickly broken when a man comes up to them. He offers them work. The boy refuses, Miguel needing the money accepts the proposal.  Later on Miguel finds him self resenting this. I love Miguel because he is so strong willed, and brave. For a young kid, he really has some big balls!!!!

The storylines all eventually mesh together. Answers come clear, and friendships form.

There is some parts in this story, that can be a bit traumatic  for some readers. I dont want to give much away, but heres a fair trigger warning.—- Just tread lightly if certain themes might upset you. These relate to abuse, both physical, and sexual. —–

Now that I have introduced the main characters, and their  story lines, I would like to give you a brief description of my overall thoughts.

Drawn is a great story, at times captivating. It is also at times a bit horrifying. The writing style is awesome, and as I mentioned earlier, there is some great character developments. Also, some great characters all around. I enjoyed it, and I found myself so lost in this world which, author James Hankins created. It draws you in, and doesn’t  let go. You grow a special closeness to the characters– (well for me i did, when it came to Boone, and Miguel especially ). It was one of my favorite reads this year, and i do highly  recommend it. There is hardship, suspense, and overcoming fears. There is gripping prose, that makes your heart race. I can now say I am a fan of Hankins, and will be reading more of  his work in the future.

James Hankins’ novel is also one of those stories, with a true monster. When I say true monster I do not mean, your average Boogeyman, Freddy Krueger, or Pennywise the Clown. This monster is a real person, with thoughts, ideas, and a unclean conscious.  An everday average person you could see walking down the street, or making your coffee. He does not have claws, or fangs. He is a real human, and that my dears is what makes one question society,  and some of the people living in it. The sad thing, is there is people like this monster . People who think like him, act like him. Its scary to think, these types of humans actually  exist…

Overall…. five stars out of five. A must read for  anyone!!!!

Well thanks for checking out my review.  It is my first one, so I hope you liked it. I hope this makes you want to read Drawn, or check it out. If you have read it, go ahead and discuss in the comments below. If you felt like this review could of been done better,  also feel free to let me  know :). Any criticism and/or feedback- wether negative  or positive  helps me out in the future.