Run for the Hills, book #19

 

So, this book.  Hhm.  How do I feel about this book?  Quite honestly I'm not entirely sure.  

Rebecca got it for me for Christmas, as he is a Tennessee author and she thought I would like it.  The description sounded like it would be a fun read:

Ever since her dad left them twenty years ago, it’s been just Madeline Hill and her mom on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. While it’s a bit lonely, she sometimes admits, and a less exciting life than what she imagined for herself, it’s mostly okay. Mostly.  Then one day Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and informs Madeline that he believes she’s his half sister. Reuben—left behind by their dad thirty years ago—has hired a detective to track down their father and a string of other half siblings. And he wants Mad to leave her home and join him for the craziest kind of road trip imaginable to find them all.  As Mad and Rube—and eventually the others—share stories of their father, who behaved so differently in each life he created, they begin to question what he was looking for with every new incarnation. Who are they to one another? What kind of man will they find? And how will these new relationships change Mad’s previously solitary life on the farm?  Infused with deadpan wit, zany hijinks, and enormous heart, Run for the Hills is a sibling story like no other—a novel about a family forged under the most unlikely circumstances and united by hope in an unknown future. (pic and description from Amazon)

But was it really fun?  Yes and no.  I had trouble getting into it at first because I didn't much care for the writing style (a personal preference) and it was only the first two kids.  As the others were added it did pick up some, but I would hardly call it filled with zany hijinks.  I almost felt like there was more that one person writing it, as parts were really, really good, other parts took off on ways that did NOT sound like the author at all (all the basketball stuff), and the end was a major let down.  

All that to say ... last night when Katie casually asked me at supper what the book was about I went into a long 15-20 minute explanation, first about what actually happened and then about what the book was about (you will understand after you read it! 😊) and then I explained what happened in the book.  And as I was telling the story it was pretty unbelieveable, because of course I was adding crazy to it.  After a long deep sigh, I asked, 'So do you guys want to read it?' They just looked at me and said, 'Well, we don't need to read it now...' 

All in all, I'm ready to get back to my pioneers and indians or Civil War or something after these last few books! 🤣

Happy Summer Reading!

Melissa