2020 IPPY GOLD winner for Best Mystery/Thriller e-bookWINNER 2020 Book Excellence Awards. ”…an especially poignant, compelling, and beautifully written update on the tale of the troubled child who witnesses a shocking event.” – David Corbett. Cabbage Night, 1991. The traditional night of pranks takes a disturbing turn when a violent crime rocks a small Adirondack town. Even more … rocks a small Adirondack town. Even more so when the only witness is a seven-year-old boy. Hen Trout, who had hoped to catch a pet hedgehog that night, instead sees his beloved Miss Sally become a victim.
Single mom Marcella Trout is blindsided when Tyler, her seventeen-year-old, is arrested for the very crime Hen witnessed. Now Tyler’s eerie mood swings seem dark and frightening and rooted in a family history Marcella has desperately tried to bury. As the criminal investigation churns on, the tenuous fabric of the Trout family begins to unravel…and even Hen begins to question the truth.
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Boy on Hold definitely knows how to make you feel all the feelings. Poor Hen, who loses his next door neighbor/friend and his brother in one swoop. Poor Ty who doesn’t realize how much help he needs and of course poor Marcy. I cannot imagine being a mother that has no idea about her child’s psychological problem both in not actually trying to figure it out why he has the problems he does and in having to live with the repercussions of missing the signs. I wish this book drew me in a little more, it was a hard one to finish, but I’m glad I did.
Boy on Hold
This book just blew me away honestly. From the trips Hen’s brother was constantly on and having to the bad egg vibe all the way down to the horrible gut wrenching dread the followed you through the book. I thought that it would be interesting, but I didn’t think the author would be able to captivate me in the way that I was captivated. Hen’s life and his second mother was ripped away from him, as well as his brother at what cost? Who would do a terrible thing and why? Care to journey down this path with me and read this heart wrenching story? Don’t put it down for too long, Hen is waiting.
Boy on Hold by JD Spero is a suspenseful, engaging story that reels you in from the beginning.
Spero writes the story from multiple points of view and carefully crafts this mystery. The characters are well-developed throughout the book and you can’t help but endear yourself to most of them. The reader immediately finds themself engulfed in a mystery witnessed by small little Hen (who sees monsters come the crime against a beloved neighbor and friend) and it all unravels from there. Could it be his brother, his brother’s best friend, or someone else entirely? Spero’s storytelling is excellent. The development of the mystery with special attention to the characters and shedding light on mental illness make this must-read. It will have you turning the page to the very end.
J.D Spero has a knack for bringing the readers into a world that could very much be someone’s reality. Boy on Hold being no exception. A psychological thriller in its own right, could be a trigger warning for someone else. Boy on Hold dives deep into a world of mental health as the novel moves forward.
Tyler, being the oldest of Marcella’s 2 children, is on the brink of a mental break. Hen, 10 years Tyler’s junior, idolizes his brother for who he knows him to be. Until Cabbage Night 1991, that’s when everything changed. Changed in ways a 7 year old could not even begin to understand, but he was smart enough to realize what happened.
Influenced by his best friend Derek and drugs, Tyler goes through a whirlwind of suffering the consequences for his actions, as the book progresses.
I’m not sure if I was the biggest fan of the constant jumping around from different points of view, however the author masterfully wove it all together so that it works very well. Highly recommended and also looking forward to reading book 2!
The Trout Family emotions and complications they go and grow through will through you for loops.Be prepared to be on the edge of your seat, bed, whatever you’re reading on!
This book is an amazing psychological thriller that makes you think and has you completely addicted.
I’m usually not one for a book that switches between the characters but this book does it so effoetlessly
What an incredible emotional story! Hen is a 7-year-old boy, who wants nothing more than to catch a hedgehog as a pet in his back yard. He falls asleep in his play tent to wake up to yelling at Miss Sally’s, the neighbor’s house. Miss Sally is like a second mom to him, she babysits him after school. Hen struggles with what he sees that night, did he see it correctly? When his 17-year-old brother, Tyler, is arrested for the crime, his life is torn apart. Marcella, their single mom is distraught, how to save her son.
Drugs, murder, and a psychiatric condition make for the beginning of a horror story. This was a story filled with love, concern, and family first. I cried for Hen, I cried for Tyler, and as a single mom, I cried for Marcella. JD Spero ripped my heart out, stomped on it, then put it back together. Families are never perfect, but when love is the foundation, they can survive anything.
Boy On Hold by JD Spero is such a great book. I have never been exposed to mental health issues in such a deep and thoughtful way. The author really makes you understand how one person struggling with an issue has such profound impact not only on family but those they encounter daily. The book is wonderfully written in such a way that you can feel the pressure of the characters and totally understand what Tyler and Hen are going through. It is well thought out and written in a way that helped me not only relate to the characters but to feel their pain and anguish as the story develops. I think this book would be a great read for everybody to teach about mental health issues and inspire compassion for those who suffer. The storyline was well structured, easy to read and still had me guessing as to what would happen next. Read, enjoy, and truly understand the trauma and triumphs of mental health issues.
Boy on Hold by J.D Spero is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I must say it was incredible! I’m extremely excited to read more! Tyler is your typical teenager going through typical teenager stuff, including hanging out with someone whom is bound to get him into trouble. Hen is his little brother. Their mother is a single woman, doing her absolute best to make ends meet, and often relies on her neighbor to babysit, until the neighbor is attacked in her home and eventually succumbs to her injuries. On the night this happens, Hen sees through the window what happens. Being as young as he is, he doesn’t really fully grasp what it is he saw, and throughout the book you slowly get a picture of what happened, but through a child’s eyes. Throughout the book, this author jumps from several points of views seamlessly. You actually FEEL like you are 7, and then like you are a teenager, and then like you are an exasperated, overworked single mom. This book is chalk full of suspense and a twist, a turn, and some “I knew it’s”, and because I literally could not put it down i give it 5 stars!
Seven year old Henry Trout is outside after his bedtime one night, searching for hedgehogs. What he sees instead is something gruesome and heartbreaking- his beloved neighbour, Miss Sally, is assaulted and left for dead. When Henry’s brother, seventeen year old Tyler Trout, is arrested and charged with the crime, their mother, Marcella, and even Sally’s son, Bernie are convinced Tyler is innocent. But Tyler has been acting very strange lately, and under the bad influence of his friend, Derek, leaving the local police to cast on Tyler. But Henry knows his brother could not have done it, because he thinks he knows who did.
JD Spero’s novel, “Boy on Hold” is a heartbreaking story with relatable, empathy-inducing characters, full of suspense and intrigue. Young Henry is so innocent and charming and his relationship with his loving big brother is admirable. Marcella, as a single mother, does the best she can to protect her children and is willing to fight to keep their innocence. There is not a likable character in the bunch, and it was easy to bond with the Trout family, and root for a positive outcome.
Spero’s novel also touches on the devastating reality that is schizophrenia and mental illness. She realistically depicts a young boy struggling with the disorder, with his family watching on, neither of them recognizing the disorder for what it is, until it takes over completely and they have gone too far to turn back. Spero manages to depict mental illness in an honest and compassionate way.
The novel is told from different time periods- before and after the crime. Each chapter is labeled so it is easy to follow along with the time switches. I am normally not a fan of novels told in this way, but in “Boy on Hold” this plot style added to the suspense.
“Boy on Hold” is a unique and gripping story with realistic and relatable characters. I eagerly look forward to the second book in this series, “Boy Released”.
This book was so good! The characters made me wish I knew them and could be there for them while they were struggling. The conflict was so relatable and really made me think. The author has this way of writing that just really draws you in and makes you want to keep going. I was reluctant to put it down and stayed up later than I should have more than once because I just didn’t want to stop!
The synopsis for this novel is short, but it holds more than enough to draw a reader in. Before starting to read I was already caught up in what may come.
This novel is a definite page turner! Spero had me sitting on the edge of my seat; I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. Her writing style flows smoothly and does not falter between characters views or jumps into the past and present.
This was my first read by this author and it won’t be my last. I already have the next one, “Boy Released”, lined up!
Boy On Hold- J.D. Spero
4-stars
Boy on Hold is the first book I’ve read by this author but it won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. This author had me captivated right from the start, with the multi person POV, dynamic characters, family trauma and mental illness I was fully intrigued the whole way through.
I love how this author created characters that were so easy to connect with and I loved the way everything was beautifully detailed while also providing some mystery. I enjoyed following these characters and trying to piece everything together. It made for a truly entertaining read!
I can’t wait to read more from this author asap!
Boy on Hold by JD Spero is the first installment in a psychological thriller series surrounding a young boy who sees something he was never supposed to see. Because he was a witness, is the only one to know the truth about this traumatic event. Now, his brother Tyler’s livelihood relies on him to speak out. This story will capture your attention and pull at your heartstrings; it is full of universal familial struggles, victories, and relatable, endearing characters. The story shifts through various time and perspectives but is easy to follow. If you are a fan of suspense and stories that drag you (willingly) on a rollercoaster of emotions, definitely pick this one up. Can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!
Hen is a seven year old boy who loves hedgehogs and lives with his mother and his older brother Tyler who he looks up to and loves with all his heart, but he knows that there is something going on with Tyler when he starts to withdraw into himself. One night in October, Hen sneaks out of the house to find a hedgehog so that he can call it Louis and keep it as a pet, he is cold, but he is determined to sit in his tent and wait for his new friend to turn up, however, despite his best efforts not to, he falls asleep and is woken up by a terrible screeching sound. As he tries to work out where it came from, he looks to his neighbours house and sees shadows moving in the windows in front of the light from the television set, he continues to hear shouting and then sees one of the shadows attack the other and the sounds stop. Hen has no idea what he just witnessed but he is terrified and goes and curls back up in his tent until the next morning when his mother comes running out thinking he is missing, but he finds it really hard to find the words to tell her and in the end decides not to, it is only when the next door neighbours son calls and tells the family that his mother can’t look after Hen after school like she normally would, so Tyler is asked to step in, he agrees to, albeit grudgingly as he leaves the house t o go to school with his best friend.
As Tyler is heading to school, he is trying to make sense of what is going on in his head, he feels worse than normal, but can’t remember why, it worries him a little, however, not as much as it should, so he tries his best to ignore it and get on with his day and as usual it is music and cigarettes which are helping him to do this, at least until he heads home from school where he decides to spend some quality time with his brother, but this doesn’t go to plan either when he thinks he hears something and it sets off his other issues. Hen has an idea of what is happening, so he just leaves his big brother to himself until his best friend arrives, Hen doesn’t like him, but he doesn’t know how he can avoid him, until his neighbours son comes round to fix their window, he also tells them that their neighbour is in hospital after being attacked, this is when Hen realises what he has seen was real after all.
It is while they are fixing the window that a police officer knocks on the door and takes Tyler and his best friend in for questioning, this isn’t something anyone expected to happen, least of all Hen, but the longer that they stay at the station, the more worried Tyler’s family becomes and none of them want to believe that he is involved, especially Hen and his mother, but as the case progresses, Hen is determined to tell someone what he saw and to convince them that Tyler is innocent, but as Tyler’s mental issues manifest in more serious ways, will they be able to work out who was the culprit and who is innocent in this tragedy? This is murder mystery which deals with mental health and its effects on people in a thrilling murder mystery you will not want to put down.
I absolutely adored this novel. The author did an amazing job of keeping the reader on the edge of their seat! It kept me thoroughly enthralled throughout. It was just the thing to get me out of my reader’s stump. I would definitely recommend reading this!
This book was my first by J. D. Spero and I look forward to more. It is a story about a 7 year old boy who just wants to catch a hedgehog to keep as a pet. Henry, or Hen as everyone calls him, sees a serious attack on his friend and neighbor Miss Sally, and then tries to figure out what is going on in his little world.
This begins a scary time for the whole family, Tyler, the big brother with some mental health issues, and his mom Marcella.
Marcella Trout doesn’t know what to do, her seventeen-year-old son has been arrested and she can’t help but worry that his recent mood swings are something more serious.
I love Hen, and the relationship he has with his brother is very heartwarming. This story really moves along nicely and becomes more than you thought it would with every turn of a page.
Boy on Hold by JD Spero is a captivating book that reels you in from the first chapter. A seven year old Hen sets out to find himself a pet hedgehog in the middle of the night, but not just any night as it was cabbage night. A night of tradition pranks. One prank gone drastically wrong next door to the Trout family while Hen is outside making him the only witness. The story revolves around this crime that has taken place. Hen’s older brother Tyler is arrested and his mother Marcella shocked. As a single mother working hard to raise her boys this is a blindside. It couldn’t be her son. Told in different points of view you gain a true connection to each character from little innocent Hen to hard-working loving mother Marcella and to the mental illness plaguing Tyler. As the tale unfolds will the truth come out on who done the crime so foul?
This book was amazing and held so much depth. JD Spero touched upon multiple subjects that many can relate to( ie: mental illness, trauma, teenage angst, family dysfunction, etc. ) . This is a first for me by this author and I am eagerly awaiting the next novel.
7 year old Hen witness’s a brutal attack on his neighbor/babysitter Sally, and soon after his brother is arrested as the accused. As the events begin to truly spiral we view a family torn apart, innocence destroyed, and hidden secrets unearthed. Multiple POV were used and each character gave you piece to the puzzle. So many emotions were brought out in this wonderfully told story, and it became a friendly reminder about how little one can know about what goes on behind closed doors.
Henry Atticus Trout, called Hen by everyone, is the younger brother of Tyler Trout. Tyler’s and Hen’s mom works as a waitress and does the best a single mother can do to provide a loving home for her boys. After school, Hen spends his days with Miss Sally, their neighbor, until his mom gets off of work.
One night, Hen goes outside alone to try and catch a hedgehog. While he is out there, he sees shadows in Miss Sally’s window. He hears screaming and knows something very bad is happening. The next day he learns from Bernie, Miss Sally’s son, that something very bad has happened to Miss Sally. While Bernie is fixing a window, the police come and pick up Tyler and his best friend, Derek, for questioning.
As a young boy of seven and in the first grade, Hen tries very hard to understand what is going on with Tyler since the incident with Miss Sally. Hen struggles to discover the truth. Can Hen and his mom stay strong when the truth of Miss Sally’s accident is revealed?
Boy on Hold is a great psychological thriller. By speaking to the heart of a serious mental illness, you will love this novel.
This is a book that kept me so captivated, I was on the edge of my seat! This is a definite must read!!! The character and world building were phenomenal. This is my first time reading anything by this author, and I will for sure be looking for further titles by them. I can’t wait to read the next book.