The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews @PaperFury @acher_am_i

Synopsis:

Can two broken boys find their perfect home?

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

Sam’s Review

I am delighted to be handing over the reins today to Sam. My first guest reviewer on my blog. I’ve been wanting to read The Boy who Steals Houses for ages and her review just confirms why. So please do enjoy.

This book was equal parts heart-warming and heart-wrenching. It contains beautifully constructed characters that are deeply human; they’re flawed and emotional, but the main characters are still people you will want to root for.

Initially, upon reading the summary, I thought it had an interesting premise, so I purchased it. I don’t regret that decision. I actually think it was one of the best I’ve ever made. I haven’t read the author’s other works, but I certainly want to now!

The way it was written was like a work of art. There were words in the story that were stretched and repeated and shifted, all to add to the effect of reading. It’s as if the author was simultaneously a poet who was aware of how the reader sees the page.

This was also the kind of book that terrified me. I started reading it and was hip-deep in sympathy for the characters before I realized all it had in store. A wonderfully represented autistic character. Tenderly handled anxiety. Acceptance. Joy.

But then came the trauma experienced pre-plot by the characters. And I worried. I thought I was going to get what I normally get when I read fiction involving trauma, even realistic fictions; a brush aside, or a single tear-filled discussion that would magically cure the character of their affliction.

I did not get that.

I got a character that felt deeply. That was hurting and desperate for healing but too scared to reach for it because of the root of the trauma. And there was no competition between which characters deserved to hurt because they had it worse. Everyone was free to feel how they felt. And that was beautiful.

And, with a bleeding heart, I got to the end of the story. Only to realize it was not the end. The story continued past the pages.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand (for these characters will teach you) that you don’t have to go where the world tells you.