Review: Pearl by Jo Knowles

Book: Pearl by Jo Knowles
Pages: 224 Pages
Release Date: July 19th, 2011
Publisher: Henry Holt
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:
Bean (née Pearl) and Henry, misfits and best friends, have the strangest mothers in town. Henry’s mom Sally never leaves the house. Bean’s mom Lexie, if she is home, is likely nursing a hangover or venting to her friend Claire about Bean’s beloved grandfather Gus, the third member of their sunny household.
Gus’s death unleashes a host of family secrets that brings them all together. And they threaten to change everything—including Bean’s relationship with Henry, her first friend, and who also might turn out to be her first love.

My Thoughts:

Wow, this book was really heart wrenching (but it was happy in some parts too).  When Pearl’s grandfather Gus dies a lot of things start to change-her mother, her feelings for Henry, and even herself.

I felt bad for Bean’s (Pearl’s) mother. She had a baby at fifteen, her father didn’t care for her much after he caught her and her best girl friend making out, and now Pearl doesn’t like her either. Actually, there were a lot of people I felt sorry for in this book. Henry, Henry’s mom, Bean, and Gus.

I loved the authors writing. There were a lot of twists and turns that made the story even better. I feel like writing this review is hard because there are so many things I want to say, but then I’d just be spoiling the whole book. I guess the only thing I didn’t like about Pearl was that it was really slow until the end. It took about nine or ten days for me to finish it (which is a lot).

Jo Knowles is a great writer and I can’t wait to read another one of her books. The cover is beautiful and I think I’ll buy a finished copy.