Hello all my bookish friends! I know I haven’t had a book review up here on the blog in a few weeks, but I am back to doing them. I have gotten out of my March reading slump, which means I have also gained some books to review that I have read. So, that being said, let’s get onto the review!
Title: Tyler Johnson Was Here
Author: Jay Coles
Pages: 299 (6:36:15)
Format: audiobook, borrowed from Overdrive
Genre(s): young adult, contemporary, fiction, realistic fiction
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
When Marvin Johnson’s twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid.
The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it’s up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.
So, for starters, the writing. I thought the writing flowed smoothly, I liked how most of the characters were written, especially how Marvin was written. I thought Marvin was a pretty honest written character and I really received the emotions he went through throughout the book pretty well.
Another aspect I liked was the story line. I thought it didn’t drag anything out for too long and I found myself like wanting to yell at Tyler for making Marvin and his mother have to go through what they’ve kind of gone through. You just feel a lot of raw emotions in this book, especially when it deals with such a heavy topic. Sadly within the last few years, this kind of topic has really taken the US to places I never thought I would fully have to see, but it’s the honest truth of our society now.
Sadly, there was really only one thing I didn’t really care for, and that was the romance. I thought it wasn’t really needed, and I felt like in a way the romance helped heal Marvin, which just didn’t really seem like the type of person he was. It was difficult to try and get into the relationship, I thought I could get into it, but I just couldn’t, and that’s why this book wasn’t a 5 star for me.
Interesting to read you thought about the book, I still haven´t been able to read it but hopefully I will soon.
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