Blitz . Contemporary . M/M . Mia Kerick . New Adult

The Scarecrow and George C by Mia Kerick

On June 17, 2019 by

The Scarecrow and George C by Mia Kerick

🍸🍸🍸1/2

Blurb

High school senior Van Liss is barely human. He thinks of himself as a scarecrow—ragged and unnerving, stuck, and destined to spend his life cold and alone. If he ever had feelings, they were stomped out long ago by his selfish mother and her lecherous boyfriend. All he’s been left with is bitter contempt, to which he clings.

With a rough exterior long used to keep the world at bay, Van spooks George Curaco, the handsome new frycook at the diner where he works. But George C senses there is more to the untouchable Van and refuses to stop staring, fascinated by his eccentricity. When Van learns that George C is even more cold, alone, and frightened than himself, Van welcomes him to his empty home. And ends up finding his heart.

Their road to trust is rocky and, at times, even dangerous. And looming evil threatens to keep them apart forever.

Fair warning: You may want to strap in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

—

*All proceeds of this book go to charity: True Colors United. 
“True Colors United implements innovative solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people.”

Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45279943-the-scarecrow-george-c

Purchase:

Amazon: https://books2read.com/u/mY1vwo?store=amazon

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/ca/book/the-scarecrow-george-c/id1465784683?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Review

It was a little hard for me to get into this book at first. It’s written in dueling first person points of view, which is always a challenge for me. And the narrators both have a habit of breaking the fourth wall, which for me was like a bad mosquito bite in that one spot between the shoulder blades where I just can’t reach. My understanding is that this style is a lot more common in New Adult or YA fiction and is possibly a generational issue on my part.

Anyway, once I made myself stick with the book and get through that nagging mosquito bite of an issue the story was pretty compelling. In a lot of cases, people who aren’t “perfect” victims don’t get a lot of sympathy. That’s definitely the case with Van. Instead of falling to pieces and showing his vulnerability to the world – which, honestly, wouldn’t make a lot of sense given his experiences – he’s developed an icy shell. A couple of people seem to instinctively grasp that there is more to his story, but on the whole there isn’t a whole lot of warmth or kindness in his life.

George C’s issues are a little different. He helps Van with his issues, and in so doing Van becomes someone who can help George with his. That aspect of the story is lovely, and watching the two of them become people they can rely on is deeply satisfying. It isn’t always pretty, and it shouldn’t be.

There are a few things that should be mentioned before people go to purchase this book. There are trigger warnings. They are not for show. Pay attention to them, and if you are someone who is going to have problems after reading some of the content in this book then do not read the book.

That said, even after the trigger warnings, Van-as-narrator adds another trigger warning in the opening lines of the book. This is over the top, and had me rolling my eyes so hard I thought they’d detach and pop right out. Trigger warnings are important. A character as narrator giving an extra trigger warning is melodrama straight out of a nineteenth century pot boiler. And yes, teenagers can sometimes be extra. I know I was. Still, this book is dealing with very serious issues and a touch like this makes it difficult for people to take them seriously.

The issue of Van’s mother is another touchy subject for me. She physically abused Van. She knowingly exposed him to other forms of abuse. Her redemption arc, such as it is, feels a little much to me. This is an area in which I have a certain amount of experience and I can say her sudden turnaround would be highly unusual. I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, I’m just saying it makes me really suspicious, especially without a significant amount of intervention.

Those are some kind of big issues, but they’re probably outsized for me because my mom worked in child abuse for her entire career. Someone else might not be bothered quite as much.

And really, the main story is about Van and George C. It’s about how finding someone who can make you feel safe, someone you can trust, can change your life for the better even if they can’t alter the past. I definitely recommend this book.

Author Bio

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—one in law school, another a professional dancer, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son, heading off to college. (Yes, the nest is finally empty.) She has published more than twenty books of LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing scholarship essays. Her husband of twenty-five years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it’s a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled people in complex relationships. She has a great affinity for the tortured hero in literature, and as a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of tortured heroes and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to her wonderful publishers for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Her books have been featured in Kirkus Reviews magazine, and have won Rainbow Awards for Best Transgender Contemporary Romance and Best YA Lesbian Fiction, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, a Story Monsters Purple Dragonfly Award for Young Adult e-book Fiction, among other awards.

Mia Kerick is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology. Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com or visit at www.miakerickya.com to see what is going on in Mia’s world.

Author links:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6474518.Mia_Kerick

Giveaway

  • $10 Amazon gift card

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