Hello everyone,
And welcome to our “3rd date” with Patrice Lawrence but this time as part of the #LostAndFound tour where I have a review of OrangeBoy for you. Do take the time to check out the other stops on the tour!
And now for the review!
Enjoy!
Too good to be true rings so right here, but at the same time why would a girl like Sonya not be attracted to a nice young lad like Marlon…unless she has her own agenda.
Marlon could not be more different from his brother Andre, former gang member whose life altering injuries were a heavy price to pay. No, Marlon having witnessed what gang life could lead to was always going to remain away from this lifestyle as far as possible.
But what if the choice is not yours to make? What if life has dealt you a hand with no other options but to get sucked into this lifestyle if not but just to survive and keep your loved ones safe?
It only took one date for everything to go south, one date and tragedy struck, death and drugs and dealers just came crashing at Marlon’s door, tsunami like waves wiping everything in his life in the blink of an eye.
Torn between the promise he made to his mother, of always being an exemplary son and the need to reclaim his trouble free life, Marlon has to become what he loathes jumping head first in the rabbit hole at the risk of never coming back.
This first novel by Patrice Lawrence is no rainbows and teddy bears, and you will be plunging down that same rabbit hole if you dare reading the first page. Many times I found myself shouting at Marlon to turn the other way or begging Tish his loyal sidekick to knock some sense into his head. This is a fast pace read and when you think Marlon is safe events will take an unexpected turn removing you ruthlessly away from that false sense of security.
One thing I can assure you of, is that once you turn the last page, this novel will stay on your mind for a while and make you think. Why? Aside from the very entertaining and gripping factor that it has, it will hit home with most, especially for those where all topics explored are all but too familiar.
This is a different side of YA, and this book sits with those who are willing to create diverse and honest pieces about teen issues that others may find uncomfortable to explore. More of those are needed and I would gladly recommend it to all.
LaChouett
Thanking team @HachetteKids  for providing me with a preview title of OrangeBoy.
If you would like to know more about Patrice Lawrence please click below for previous posts:
Fantastic review 🙂 And yes, even months later I’m still thinking about Marlon and WHY???
It was at times uncomfortable to read and I loved that I was pushed outside of my comfort zone.
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Thank you, and I know what you mean. ..The scary thing is though, it could have had a totally different ending. I think Patrice was nice to spare us :).
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