Sunday 12 May 2013

Young Men Shall See by Scott Thompson









     This is a coming to age story told through the eyes of Gus Ambrose, a teenager in River Falls, a small community in Georgia. A tale of love and heartache, excitement and horror, a group of teenagers struggle to make sense of a world where old fashioned attitudes and myths collide with  teenage boredom and a desire to have fun.

      I liked everything about this book. I don't think there's anything I didn't like. I really loved the main characters and the world in which the story is told, I loved the short chapters and I loved the way the story was told slowly and effortlessly without feeling forced in any way. But most of all ( and this is difficult to explain) I liked the whole atmosphere of the book, because some books do have an atmosphere. Some books get to you in all the right places, sometimes you really connect with the characters and it's almost as if you are there in the pages of the book yourself. I suppose that is what I am trying to say. I certainly had that connection with 'Young Men Shall See'.

      As far as debut novels are concerned this is incredibly well written and Scott Thompson certainly knows how to write. And the great thing is that given the opportunity his writing will hopefully continue to grow and blossom and even greater things will come in the future. A part of me thinks that maybe the story could have ended with Chapter 30 without the addition of the final chapter but maybe I'm just nick picking because I really liked this book. You know when you've really enjoyed a book because you just want to read it again and you don't want the story to end.

      A Superb Debut 5/5

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