BotW {02}

I didn't get to read too many book this week. It was a slower than usual week with me only reading 6 books and one being a short novel. I really liked most of the books I've read this week and two were definitely tough contenders for the BotW pick. But I decided on the one that I felt was more... identifiable to most readers. This pick had real life drama that even if most couldn't relate to it, they know someone who can or is going through it or they know someone who it could apply to.

So my pick for Book of the Week {02} is:

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Amazon.

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

When I first started reading this book, emotionally, it hit me pretty hard. It made me sit down and think of what our soldiers have to go through mentally.  I'm not going to lie, I usually avoid news when it comes to our situation with the Middle East because my brother happens to be over there. I don't want to hear about bombings or the fact that a plane full of Navy freakin' SEALs were shot down. I mean, those guys were the cream of the crop. If it can happen to them... my mind goes haywire thinking what can happen to a young man from the country or well, my brother. I'm sure many of you have friends and/or family serving our country so when you read this story... of course, it gets intense and emotional because of this whole situation. I would definitely recommend it though because it's a glimpse into what military men have to deal with even when they're safely back home.

{ Characters } What I really liked about this book is that it focused on the main character, Travis. It focused on him and his relationships with two other females, his family and old friends, and his "home". It should focus on him, it should be all about him and it was. Even when it came to his relationship with other girls, it was mainly about what she could do for him since he wasn't 100% healthy emotionally. It also focused on his relationship with his family. He wasn't close with his family before and definitely not after. He had trouble connecting to everyone after, but it was nice reading from his POV on what he never thought his family had to go through even though he was the one who signed up and was sent overseas to go through this whole ordeal. It shows how this situation can affect everyone around one person.

{ Plot } The story starts out with Travis first getting home. How he had trouble connecting or feeling that he was finally "home". I guess it was because after his ordeal, it just seemed so normal and that's something he wasn't used to for a while. He barely talked to family or friends while he was gone so you are going through the struggles with him once he gets to the point where he is finally "home". And I say "home" in those quotation marks because, it doesn't feel like a real home to him. What's important to him where the men he bonded with overseas and there not there anymore. The one most important person to him didn't even make it back home so he's having trouble coming to terms with that. It's a heartbreaking story because you get this glimpse of what he sacrificed, what he went through for everyone. For his whole country. And yet, when he comes back, what does he get in return?

{ Overall } Why did I pick this book? It is such a normal book, but it just emotionally hit me so hard. It's a normal, contemporary read that makes you think, "is this what our military men (and women!) have to go through?" It broke my heart & it angered me. I just can't imagine anyone having to go through what Travis did and yet, I know it does happen. I would definitely recommend picking this up & dedicating a part of your time to helping someone who's going to or have been overseas. OR helping the ones left behind... the parents, spouses, siblings, etc. who worry day in and day out about when that special someone(s) is coming back home.

Here are the other books I've read & rated during the week: July 01 - July 07 2012.
Crow's Row by Julie Hockley - 4/5
The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda - 4/5
Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone - 3/5
Slave by Sherri Hayes - 3/5
Deceptive Desires by Lilly LaRue - 2/5

Until next week :0)