Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: One, Two, Three, Salvation
SERIES: Art from Ashes #2
AUTHOR: Joey James Hook
PUBLISHER: Rooster & Pig Publishing, Inc.
LENGTH: 178 Pages
BLURB:
Kay Doyle spends a lot of time feeling plain and unworthy. Due to his father’s debilitating illness, Kay lives with his mom’s best friend, Kaleb Xander, who raises Kay as his own. Unfortunately, Kaleb can’t keep Kay from feeling unwanted by his family.
Senior year, Kay meets Johnny Collins, an enigmatic rebel. Johnny yanks Kay out of his shell and discovers he has a wild side. When Johnny pulls Kay into a dark world of sex and hardcore drugs, Kay has to find a way out. More importantly, he wants to help Johnny find salvation from the harsh reality he lives in.
REVIEW:
Joey James Hook brings another installment in his Art from Ashes series. As many of you might remember, I reviewed his book One, Two, Three, Shatter back in late December. You can read that review HERE.
Like the first book I reviewed in this series, this newest book also has some dark aspects. It has references to drug usage and past abuse and past sexual abuse (very minimal and only in referencing back to the events in the previous book) that could be triggers for some readers. The author does a wonderful job on character development. As with his first book, the characters in this book feel like real people and draw you into their lives.
Kay Doyle feels pretty unworthy. When his father was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when Kay was six he was sent off to live with his mom’s best friend Kaleb Xander, who you will remember as the mixed up mess of a man that we read about in book one. Kaleb has gotten his life in order and settled down with Trent and is now going through life quite happy….well, except for his bad days which we won’t mention! At first he hesitates to take in Kay, whose real name is also Kaleb since he is named after him. But he breaks down and takes Kay in, and provides him a home to grow up in.
The book passes quite quickly through the years that Kay is growing up until he reaches eighteen. I would really have liked to see more details of Kay’s life growing up. I think the book could have been even better with more information along the way. I did understand through the development of his character the pain he has about being “abandoned” by his family, but I think it could have been expanded to give us a more painful read. I expected the author to drag us down in wallowing pain, but it didn’t happen. Kay is a super intelligent loner, with only one close friend. But then his sexual awakening happens and he develops a huge crush on a totally unworthy girl. When it turns out that she is a total mistake, he ends up going to a new friend for advice. Let’s just say that all the advice he receives isn’t that good.
This book stirred up some emotions in me. I was so angry at Kaleb for not sharing his history with Kay. Some of the mistakes Kay made along the way would have been avoided if Kaleb had only opened his mouth! And it was odd, because they have such a close relationship as the book progresses. I read into the story, and came to the conclusion that it was probably self-shaming that caused Kaleb to stay quiet about his personal background as long as he did.
The book was well written, and although dark, it isn’t as dark as its predecessor. I enjoyed the book and recommend it as either a follow up to One, Two, Three, Shatter or as a stand-alone. If you like dark and gritty reads, pick up one or both of these books today!
RATING: 
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