It's 1959, and Tommy Bedford lives his life in a fantasy state of mind. He has grown up with the old west heroes of Flint McClintock, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and of course the Lone Ranger. He sees these men as the true heroes to be emulated in his own life. However Tommy is faced with one horrible problem that no amount of fantasizing can help, it's bedwetting.
His poor parents have tried everything in hopes of determining what is the underlying cause behind it but when all else fails, Tommy is sent off to boarding school in hopes that this will make him grow up. However what Tommy does learn from boarding school is that what goes on behind the walls of the school is kept secret. The brutal horrors of being threatened and bullied by those upper classmen teach Tommy that some things are never meant to be spoken of again.
In the book, The Brave by Nicholas Evans, we are taken back into the past when Tommy is struggling to find his own identity in a world of what the world wants as we see Tommy's childhood years and his sister Diane who has moved away to find her career in Hollywood as the newest up and coming starlet. She only wants to help Tommy in a way their parents can't. She meets Tommy's TV western hero, Ray Fontaine and believes he could be the answer to her prayers.
The book also takes you back and forth in Tommy's life and can occasionally take the reader awhile to understand which time period you are in with regard to Tommy. However the book does take some unexpected twists and turns and you understand that both Tommy and Diane each have secret lives that will soon be on display for the whole world to see and you understand just how tragic their lives are.
I received this book, compliments of Hachette Book Group for my honest review and must say this one is really great. It's a first for me reading Nicholas Evan's book but I did see The Horse Whisperer and have to say he is a great storyteller. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
For more information on the book, the author and where to get a first chapter glance, click on the title below:
The wonderful people at Hachette Book Groups have offered 3 giveaway copies of this book to the readers of this blog, and here are your guidelines:
1. You must be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.
2. You must reside in the US or Canada and No P.O. Boxes please.
3. I must have a way to contact you via email if you are one of the lucky winners, so please include your email address in the comment box. You may use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.
4. Leave me a comment telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this book. The giveaway ends on October 20th.
