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Freewill Chris Lynch Books

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Freewill Chris Lynch Books

The writing grabbed my attention immediately. As the reader, we are listening in on a character who has this voice talking to him...all...of...the...time. Gripping for the first ten pages or so, but excruciating and exhausting before you get even halfway through the story. (A story which is very well hidden behind the incessant talking and questioning of "the voice.") Did I mention the exhausting part?

This is Not a quick read. Were you looking for a quick read, dear reader? Were you? Is that what you need? Things to be quick? Because that what books can be, can't they? Quick. But why call them "reads," anyway? Aren't they really books? Isn't it strange how people call things what they aren't? Can you even ponder that, reader? Is it worth pondering? Why? Why even ask? Does asking . . .

(No kidding. That's what the book is like from start to finish.)


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Freewill Chris Lynch Books Reviews

You pick up the new book by Chris Lynch, an author you like even though he usually writes books dealing with sports, and you don't like sports. As you read the first couple sentences, you notice it's written in the second person. You decide to give it a try, no matter that you find second person narration artificial and a little pretentious. You read about a teen named Will who has lost his father and stepmother in an accident that might not have been an accident. Will goes to a special school, you come to understand, because he didn't take their deaths well. You really don't like Will or his Grandparents who are ineffectual. To you they seem like scenery that wrings its hands a lot. You do like his sometimes friend Angela who might be a lesbian since she insists she doesn't date boys. You also like some of the sprung-from-teen-angst observations and wisdom, but you find the slim plot about a string of teen suicides a bit clichéd. You are confused when Will starts blaming himself for the suicides. Your confusion is compounded when some of the adults seem to blame him too. You actually spend a few moments wondering if you are just not a skilled enough reader to understand this literary experiment. After finishing the book, you decide that's not the case. You're smart enough, and this is just a choose your own adventure without the fun of the choices.
This book is confusing. You may shake your head more than once throughout as you wonder what you may have missed. But, unlike the only other review that is currently posted, I intend to say positive things about the book.
1. Will's descriptions of what it feels like to be an outcast are wonderful. I speak to you as someone who was formerly known as invisiblegirl, so I know what Will was saying. And the way he said it, it was beyond merely true. True isn't a strong enough word. I felt what Will was saying when he said, "People are nearby, in front of your face or working shoulder to shoulder or whatever it is, but they are never ever really with you, are they? Nearby, that's the best they can ever be."
2. The book moves quickly which may feed to the confusion, but the story has a slow feel to it. You are inside Will's mind, the mind of a disturbed young man. There is a certain slowness that comes across in Will's thoughts that counteracts the fast pace of the book. The result is that the reader is able to get to know Will through the inner dialogue, his voices if you will. I feel that this "experiment" of the second person was well done. It accomplished what it set out to do, in my mind anyway.
3. This isn't your standard book, but it is worth the read if you choose not to be put off by the fact that the events of the novel are not really all that important. It may sound like they are when you're describing to book 'a series of teen suicides leaves a young man wondering if he caused their deaths unknowingly.' Sounds like some kinds of a psychological thriller, doesn't it? It isn't. It is psychological all right, but not a thriller by any means. This book is an opportunity to really get inside a characters head, in a way that few other books allow.
I suggest you read it and decide how well you know yourself.
Will has had some problems in his life. His parents are dead. Actually, his father drove off of a bridge with his stepmother in the car, and both of them were killed. Will isn't sure it was completely an accident. Will's grandparents take him in and try to help him cope with these deaths, which he doesn't do very well. He eventually is enrolled in a school program mainly consisting of wood shop classes. Instead of working toward his dream of becoming a pilot, Will spends hours making gnomes, furniture, and then, finally, wooden totems with no apparent purpose.

Then, when a student is found dead of what seems like a suicide, one of Will's wooden totems shows up at the scene. Then it happens a second time. Will is confused about who would place his totems at these places. Then a totem shows up before a person is found dead, and Will starts thinking that perhaps he in some strange way is causing these deaths.

Will is suddenly in the middle of turmoil. A newspaper interview in which he tries to explain his thoughts goes all wrong. Will's grandparents are growing increasingly worried about him. Some students at school are thinking Will is some sort of prophet and they want to be his followers--but they get angry when Will doesn't give them what they want. The girl Will likes may be in danger. Can he pull himself out of this mess and put his life back in order?

I liked the character of Angela. I thought she was interesting and mysterious. I also ended up liking the narration style, although at first it was difficult for me to get used to it. It took me awhile to learn when Will was just talking inside of his head and when he was having conversations with other people. Once I got used to it, though, the flow was pretty good. I kept wishing that Will would not be such a jerk to his grandparents, though, and that they could develop a somewhat stable family. I found the whole thing about the suicides and the totems was confusing, and I wished I could have seen some things from a point of view other than Will's. I didn't always trust him as a narrator.
The writing grabbed my attention immediately. As the reader, we are listening in on a character who has this voice talking to him...all...of...the...time. Gripping for the first ten pages or so, but excruciating and exhausting before you get even halfway through the story. (A story which is very well hidden behind the incessant talking and questioning of "the voice.") Did I mention the exhausting part?

This is Not a quick read. Were you looking for a quick read, dear reader? Were you? Is that what you need? Things to be quick? Because that what books can be, can't they? Quick. But why call them "reads," anyway? Aren't they really books? Isn't it strange how people call things what they aren't? Can you even ponder that, reader? Is it worth pondering? Why? Why even ask? Does asking . . .

(No kidding. That's what the book is like from start to finish.)