Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:  The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson

SERIES:   Get Out Book 1

AUTHOR:     Sean Kennedy

PUBLISHER:     Harmony Ink Press

LENGTH:     205 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 7, 2016

BLURB:

Micah Johnson is out of options.

Following a stint as a runaway after the cruel revelation of his sexual orientation, Micah vows to get his life back on the right track. But there are roadblocks between him and his goal of making the national draft and having a shot at becoming an AFL player, including struggles with other students both on and off the football field. Hiding behind sarcasm will only protect him from so much, and Micah knows just making it to graduation will be an epic battle. If only Micah could find a fraction of the faith that his mentor, Declan Tyler, has in him, but he can’t seem to see what Declan does.

Micah is trying to reform, but the end of the road is a long way off, and it’s clear the process is ongoing.

REVIEW:

I’m still reeling from the fact that I managed to snag this book to review!  Usually a couple of our reviewers get their names on the list for Mr. Kennedy’s books before I do.  I’m really happy they didn’t this time!

In The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson our focus shifts from the main characters in the Tigers & Devils series, over to Micah Johnson, the troubled youth that Declan has been working with through his Get Out charity.  Those of you who’ve read the Tigers & Devils series will remember that Micah had quite a bit of page time in Mr. Kennedy’s third book in that series, Tigers on the Run.  Now it is time for his own story.

The story begins shortly after the end of Tigers on the Run, but sidesteps over to Micah’s point of reference in what is billed as the start of a new separate series.  We knew Micah had issues in the previous book, but I really enjoyed getting to know this kid in this current work.  I’ll be honest, at times I wanted to reach in and shake him when he was being pig-headed, but that was only because the story was, as always with Mr. Kennedy, superbly written, with snarky characters, infighting, bouts of homophobia, high school drama, and the build up to the AFL draft.

I want to stress that this book isn’t part of the Tigers & Devils series, but rather a spinoff.  With this book, Mr. Kennedy has created a new series targeted I believe, based on it having been published by Harmony Ink Press, at the Young Adult / New Adult market.  The book is age appropriate for that market, while still being a great read for old duffs like me who love the original series!  That said, we do still have Declan running around and even a couple brief flashes of Simon.

Will Micah ever wise up, lose the anger and hostility he is carrying from being outed before he was ready?  With it feeling like the whole world is out to get him, and rampant homophobia at not only school, but also the Football camps, will he make it to the draft picks?  No spoilers except to say that I really liked Micah’s character by the end of the book and hope we hear more of him in the future!

I highly recommend this book.  You don’t have to read the Tigers & Devils series first, but I love that series and recommend you read it when you have a chance.  I don’t remember anything too wild in those books that would make them inappropriate for this audience as well.

RATING:  

BUY LINKS: 

Harmony Ink Press  

Amazon

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