Reviewing: The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas

...from the publisher...

 Thirteen-year-old Loyal Raines is supposed to stay close to home on a hot summer day in 1934. When he slips away for a quick swim in the river and finds a dead body, he wishes he'd obeyed his mother. The ripples caused by his discovery will impact the town of Beverly, West Virginia, in ways no one could have imagined.

The first person those ripples disturb is Loyal's absentee father. When Creed Raines realized his infant son was deaf, he headed for the hills, returning only to help meet his family's basic needs. But when Loyal, now a young teen, stumbles upon a murder it's his father he runs to tell--shaping the words with his hands. As Creed is pulled into the investigation he discovers that what sets his son apart isn't his inability to hear but rather his courage. Longing to reclaim the life he abandoned, Creed will have to do more than help solve a murder if he wants to win his family's hearts again. 

...my thoughts...

Sarah Loudin Thomas' The Right Kind of Fool took me right to that hot day in Beverly, West Virginia in 1934. I could feel the heat and desire to shed my shoes and dip my feet in that cool water with Loyal Raines, a young deaf teenager by my side.  He was exploring that delicious feeling we all feel when we are 14 and escaping the strictures of rules that keep us indoors when we just know we should be out having fun.  Only Loyal got more than he bargained for.  

True to her fashion of hooking the reader into her pages, this author had me reading once more into the wee hours of the night. I can't recall any book written by Sarah Loudin Thomas that didn't intrigue me from the start.  Loyal is a formidable hero who is bright for his age, able to see things many overlook and with the knack of remembering what is laid out before him.  He stumbled upon a murder, saw things that could or could not be true and the fact that he was deaf had a profound impact on all that unfolded.  I particularly liked reading his thought process throughout the book. Whether he reasoned through the clues about the murder, his parents relationship. his desire for friendships or to prove himself to his father, he was wise beyond his years.

This story is definitely a murder mystery, and it is a good one.  It is also much more.  It is about pulling people together by one young man who, when finally allowed, touches the lives of his community.  His courage is inspiring and his love is a gift.  The events of the story are almost secondary to the master weaving of a family back together.  This is an inspiring story of hope, set in a time when deaf children were not seen for their precious worth. They were different and often overlooked.  Loyal was not going to be overlooked.  Things are much improved these days, yet all of the modern conveniences pale in comparison to seeing the smiles of a group of children playing where one of them just happens to be deaf. Many thanks to #BethanyHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.  The opinions are mine.

Storing Up Trouble Not a Problem for Beatrix in Turano's Latest Novel

...from the publisher...
When Miss Beatrix Waterbury's Chicago-bound train ride is interrupted by a heist, Mr. Norman Nesbit, a man of science who believes his research was the target of the heist, comes to her aid. Despite the fact that they immediately butt heads, they join forces to make a quick escape.
Upon her arrival in Chicago, Beatrix is surprised to discover her supposedly querulous Aunt Gladys shares her own suffragette passions. Encouraged by Gladys to leave her sheltered world, Beatrix begins working as a salesclerk at the Marshall Field and Company department store. When she again encounters Norman on a shopping expedition, he is quickly swept up in the havoc she always seems to attract.

But when another attempt is made to part Norman from his research papers, and it becomes clear Beatrix's safety is also at risk, they soon discover the curious way feelings can grow between two very different people in the midst of chaos.

...my thoughts...
From start to finish this book was entertaining.  Beatrix and Norman were destined to meet and meet they did in many uncanny ways.  Invited to leave New York by her own mother, Beatrix headed to Chicago to stay with an aunt whom she knows nothing about.  Aunt Gladys, unconventional and happy to be so, is rumored to be such a bad sort that Norman, who got saddled with Beatrix in a foiled robbery attempt can't bear to abandon Beatrix on that woman's doorstep alone.  Little did anyone know  that this is where the rest of their madcap adventure would begin.

Enticed by the thought of being unknown in Chicago, Beatrix enjoys the thought of having a job as a shop girl to gain the pulse of societal norms.  As a rich young heiress with a lot of time on her hands, she is challenged by her aunt to not just embrace the idea of being a suffragette but learn why she would want to be a suffragette.  Little did she know how much she had to learn about the inner workings of the society she lived in, both on and off the clock.

I enjoyed seeing how many aha moments Beatrix and Norman had as they navigated the world outside of their comfort zones.  I couldn't help but root for them both, although the story was a bit predictable, but fun nevertheless!  If you are looking for some entertainment, I recommend adding Storing Up Trouble, by Jen Turano to your reading list.