The Scarecrow & George C

Donovan “Van” Liss talks to the reader as if they’re there with him. I found it interesting how he sees the way he acts as a deterrent but as he lets us into his world I found it to be the opposite. First thing I thought was what was the trigger that caused him to makes the choices he made. That was the moment that I felt the author put out some bait to get the reader to turn the page.

I found he had an interesting job choice. Even though he wants to be left alone, I think he’s saying “see me, here I am”. He may not like it but Van’s story touched my heart and it might yours as well. George C is an important character. He’s needed to show us Van’s humanity. He tries to keep it locked down but I think you’ll see that some things just can’t be locked away. George has his own issues. The difference between these two is that Van doesn’t mind letting us into his secrets and George seemed almost reluctant.

Sometimes kids don’t feel as if they have someone to tell their troubles to. The reader becomes that ear. Something else Van may not like but I thought of him as a flower. First he starts as a tightly closed bud but as the story progresses we see the bud slowly open. With George maybe he’s the water. Flowers need water in order to grow and flourish and maybe that is what he becomes.

What’s sad about this story is that we have young men that feel they can’t speak out. It may make you question, how well do you know the people around you. Do they tell you everything about themselves? Do they have secrets? As with the church scandals that keep coming out, how many years have to go by before people feel they can say something. Something else that’s sad is that the adults either don’t believe or come to conclusions before ever asking if they have problems and can they help. Maybe it will even have you questioning, what would you do?

If you’re looking for something different from what you’ve read before, I think you might want to think about this book. If you don’t mind that both main characters are male, you might find it worth a look. I almost passed on the chance to read and I’m glad I changed my mind. It’s not a story that would have you say, “oh, that would never happen”. I think it’s a great story that shows we need to work on diversity and inclusion. Where behavior, and the way a person dresses, is concerned maybe ask questions not make conclusions – or even just say “I’m here if you ever want to talk”. Be a support system instead of a judge.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.