The haunting image of the young boy on the cover, coupled with the name Michael Landon Jr. was enough to intrigue me to read.
"Jr. Landon," as I call him, with Cindy Kelley, successfully turned the first two of Janette Oke's "Love Comes Softly" series into great films for television. They co-wrote the scripts on at least the first two, if not three.
I think they should stick to making movies. This is their first novel and the story seems very contrived to me. One element I've noticed about "SR Landon" storytelling is that sometimes, for dramatic effect, one had to strain their incredulity just a bit too far. I remember one "Little House on the Prairie" episode that had Laura and Almanzo losing their crop, then losing their house, then they both got really sick. And all this happened at once.
This story about a sweet deaf mute boy sometimes stretches incredulity. Set in the 1930s, during the Depression, the boy and his mother are forced to flee the father. They live at the Salvation Army for a few days, then on the street. Finally, a big break comes, or so it seems. The plot goes downhill from here, and doesn't turn around until the very end. Almost as an afterthought, the last chapter is from the boy's point of view.
I had high hopes for this story, and at times, I was touched, but overall, well, like I said, I think they should stick to adapting others' works for the screen. That's what they're good at.
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