Founding Fathers: 2 (Olivia & Hale)

Although Founding Fathers is slow to start, it lays the foundation for understanding the characters and how all their lives are intertwined and involved in the storyline. It picks up pace and when it does you can’t stop reading because you just want to know how it is all going to end. As usual Gagnier’s writing is incredible. Building characters is definitely a strength of his. You get lost in their lives. This book touches on subjects that are very real and I think Gagnier does a good job at capturing different facets of extremist ideology. Excellent read and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

Nicholas Gagnier takesthe white supremacists out of the headlines and brings them into our backyards.

I had no idea what to expect when I opened this book. It was a completely new author to me and for the first few pages, I struggled to find the rhythm of the story. Set in a strata of American society I have no experience of, as a British person I did find the language and phrasing completely alien. But I was intrigued enough to stick with it, and I’m glad I did.Told from multiple points of view, it is mostly the story of Samantha – a struggling, newly single mother whose husband’s betrayal has left her with a morose teenager to deal with, as well as judgemental and snobby neighbours. And Peter, an individual who is so far adrift he has completely lost sight of land. Sucked into a world of violence and crime, he struggles to maintain his integrity as he begins to realise the truth of the adage – choose your company wisely.This story is very much of the zeitgeist, addressing the issues of the underbelly of vice and rank despair existing in society today, which has its parallels in the elitist bullying of Sam’s son by his peers and the rampant racism directed towards his new neighbour Nadia and her family. Newly arrived in America, the level of abuse directed towards them by children and adults alike is truly shocking. This “them and us” attitude is not just confined towards foreigners though, as Freddie – the coloured owner of a fast-food van who exists on the very fringes of society discovers to his cost.Fast-paced, the author writes well and precisely, and there is a crispness to his prose which suits the tone of the book. Never sugarcoating either the characters or the plot, it is in places violent and ugly, as Peter descends into an ever-decreasing spiral of bad choices and disastrous consequences.The characters are interesting and well defined, and I found the persona of Syd particularly fascinating. Brittle to the point of shattering, I wondered about her motives but gradually the author revealed them until her actions make a horrific kind of sense. And that’s the strength of this book. Yes, his characters carry out heinous acts, they do and say things that have the reader wincing in disbelief, but there is always a reason. Nothing is ever just because.I thought I had this book tagged. By two-thirds of the way through I had settled into the genre and assumed I knew where I stood. I was wrong. Towards the end, the author throws the reader a curveball which left my eyebrows raising in disbelief as the novel veered in a totally unforeseen direction and hinted at changing genre completely.There was an ending I did not see coming. In a way, it sickened and angered me. Did I wish for something else? Yes. Was the author correct in giving me the ending he did? Also, yes. It was a brave call, and many authors would have opted for a safer conclusion and not risk antagonising their readers.This was a fascinating and interesting read from an author I am keen to try more of.

This is a compelling read that I can not stop thinking about. This is a deep book, not a light and fluffy read. I recommend it for a reading group for high school class discussion. Lots of good discussion starters here.I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.