Beginning ~ with an angry father

"He'd never seen his father so angry, and that was saying a lot, because he'd seen him plenty mad the last few years.  Tia really was to blame, not that it mattered.   He should have known not to listen to her."

Half a Heart ~ by Karen McQuestion, 2018, fiction (Wisconsin)

At nine years of age, Logan Weber knows the routine.  Keep quiet, make the food last, and don’t ever cause trouble.  He’ll do what it takes to evade the rages of his troubled, violent father.  Even though he’s only a child, Logan already knows too much, has seen too much.  When the opportunity presents itself, Logan runs.  He has no idea where his journey will lead, or that the grandmother he’s been told is dead is desperately searching for him.  Alone with no home of his own, Logan looks for a safe place to hide.  Relying on his instincts and the kindness of strangers, the boy manages to touch the lives of everyone he meets.  But his innocent heart cannot survive in the adult world without the most basic human need of all:  love.

I prepared this early, setting it to post at one minute past midnight, as early as possible on Friday.  Then I kept reading.  I stayed up most of the night reading and finished it.  (Retirees can do that.)  For me, rating a book 10 of 10 means I couldn't put it down.  That's true of this book!

I searched my blog to see if I'd read any other books by this author, since her name sounded familiar.  Yes, it turns out I'd read one other book by Karen McQuestion, her 2014 novel Hello Love.  And guess what?  I also rated that one 10 of 10.  Amazing!  I've read only two books by this author, and I gave both of them my highest rating.  Yeah, they are both worth reading, and I highly recommend either or both of them.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Linky.