Book Review: "Stonefly" by Scott J. Holliday

"Stonefly" by Scott J. Holliday was a wonderfully unique book and so worth the time I took to read it. I'll start with a synopsis then give my reasons why you as the reader should invest some time in this book.

Jacob Duke has a compulsion to grant wishes. When he is ten a schoolmate wishes her tormentor dead and Jake is compelled to grant her wish. This act sends Jake to a mental institution in Braketon. We fast forward to ten years later and Jake has come back to Braketon to do some lazy fly fishing, he wants some alone time. He had promised himself while in the institution that someday he would enjoy beautiful Braketon summer days from outside the institution's walls. On his mini vacation from his tattoo shop, Jake doesn't intend on meeting a young boy named Frankie. Frankie makes a terrible wish. "I wish someone would kill my dad." Now Jake has six days to change Frankie's mind or fulfill his wish.

5+, When it's so good you just CAN'T miss it.

Some books build up a huge head of steam very quickly and the reader feels like they're rushing headlong into a spectacularly  overwhelming ending. Other books are a slow build of tension that keeps the reader reading steadily well into the night not because of the adrenaline rush but because they just have to know what happens to the characters. Scott Holliday's "Stonefly" is an exquisitely written book that follows the latter form of tension. It's tension is not the breathless kind but is still incredibly effective in compelling the reader to keep reading. We want to know what compels Jake to grant wishes, we want to know if Jake can rescue Frankie from his horribly abusive father and we want to see a happily ever after for Jake at the end.

Even by the first chapter I was trepidatious on wishing for that happily ever after for Jake but I knew I'd love this book. Sometimes just the sheer poetic beauty of the writer's style tells you you're gonna love this read. That's what this book was like for me, a five star slow boiling need to see what was gonna happen in Jake's unusual world. I'm not going to give you any more details about the book as even one more word would possibly ruin something wonderful. Go get this book, you'd be missing something awesome if you skip it.

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