Pepper Winters - The Son and his Hope

“Things you should know about me from the very beginning:
I was born to true love, witnessed the destruction it causes, and vowed never to let such agony happen to me. I am not a story-teller like my father. I am not a writer like my mother. I am just a son—their son.
I am happy being alone.
And that is all I ever want to be.”
 
JACOB
The day he was born, Jacob learned his hardest and longest lesson.
It wasn’t a lesson a boy should learn so young, but from his earliest memories he knew where happiness lives, so does tragedy. Where love exists, so does heartbreak. And where hope resides, so does sorrow.
That lesson carved him from the kid to the teen to the man.
And nothing and no one could change his mind.
 
HOPE
I first met him when he was fourteen at a movie premiere of all places. A movie based on his parent’s life.
He was stoic, strong, suspicious, and secretive.
I was only ten, but I felt something for him. A strange kind of sorrow that made me want to hug and heal him.
I was the daughter of the actor hired to play his father.
We shared similarities.
I recognized parts of him because they were parts of me.
But no matter how many times we met. No matter how many times I tried.
He stayed true to his vow to never fall.

Review

4 stars

I was really looking forward to this book. Jacob's parents books hit me emotionally and I loved them so much I bought the double trade paperback for my "keeper" shelf. 

But.........

I didn't absolutely love Jacob's story. Honestly Part 1 was a slow painful path I forced myself thru (3 stars). Part 2 was better, we get more movement of the story (3.5 stars). More emotional attachment. Part 3 was the 4 star portion of the story for me, the resolution to the life of the Wild family. This is where I actually got attached to Hope and Jacob and enjoyed how their path was converging. 

Maybe it was because all of Jacob's issues were emotional in comparison to his parents where theirs started out as a survival to live. Jacob and Hope started their lives not having to worry about food or shelter, they had a whole different set of problems. Both had lost a parent, so everything was emotional. And Jacob was such a stubborn character thru most of the book. And at times, it all felt a little too predictable. 

Still happy I read it, not a keeper for me, but I still enjoyed the ending to the Wild family.