by Annalisa Crawford
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Battered Suitcase Press
Pub Date: June 10 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon
“The Boathouse collects misfits. Strange solitary creatures that yearn for contact with the outside world, but not too much. They sit, glass in hand, either staring at the table in front of them, or at some distant point on the horizon.”
… so says the narrator of Our Beautiful Child. And he’s been around long enough to know.
People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.
Ella finds love, a moment too late; Rona discovers a beautiful ability which needs refining before she gets hurt; and Sally meets the captivating Murray, who threatens to ruin everything.
Three women. Three stories. One pub
My Review: All three stories are written perfectly and packed with detail that is just amazing. Each ending was surprising to me and it made it all that better.
First is about Ella and the nightmares she had as a young girl. You would think it was a monster dream...but was it? Then what's with the aliens when she gets into teen years? There must be something hidden within these dreams, but just what could this all mean exactly? Later in her life Will comes along and her dreams continue to go on. The last few words of this story was a surprise and yet it was just perfect.
So lets talk about Sally and her boyfriends. Well it starts strong and she is with Murray and well they should have better timing, because now Sally has to scramble to look good and get to work. Sally works at a fast food place and thats about it. She dropped out of school and made some wrong turns in the road, but right now she is working and hopes to move closer to the water some day. Then there is Steve. Then there was Andrew who she was supposed to marry. Well Sally doesn't have the greatest luck in the world when guys are concerned. They all tend to die and Sally moves on. Murray was mentioned the most and she could have had a life with him and be happy together, but I guess things never go perfectly for Sally. Now she grabs her bag and goes on in her life.
Now for Rona. Rona also left school and is off doing her thing. New job and place and has an ability. Dreams and ghosts is what Rona deals with. Its nothing new really, she would be moving furniture and turning on lights when she was a kid. Yup, totally normal things going on around here. Souls and stories will come to her and its actually written really well and I couldn't get enough of Rona's story.
Three different stories and yet they all relate to the pub. Each story is strong and the details are done wonderfully. I just kept turning the page and wish the stories were longer than they were. I loved each one and will be looking to read more of Annalisa's books!
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪✪
