Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: 717 Miles
AUTHOR: Sophia Soames
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 340 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2019
BLURB:
The calculated flying distance from Oslo to London is equal to 717 miles which is equal to 1153 km. If you want to go by car, the driving distance between Oslo and London is 1732.79 km. If you ride your car with an average speed of 112 kilometres/hour (70 miles/h), travel time will be 15 hours 28 minutes.
Adam Vik Solheim should not be in London. He’s not supposed to be anywhere near the British capital, because Adam Vik Solheim, age 19, is supposed to be on a beach in Bali. He is supposed to be on the first stop on an Asian backpacking trip of a lifetime. THAT was the plan. That is where he is supposed to be. Not here. Alone in a weird house in a strange city, being paid to look after some troubled 17-year-old.
Felix Haugland has to survive the final 3 weeks of school. Make it through 21 more days of hell. Then he is going to hide out in his room for the rest of the summer until he can figure out how to get his life back on track. Find a school far far away, where he can start over and not make mistakes. He doesn’t need a flipping babysitter. He just doesn’t. His life is messed up enough as it is
REVIEW:
I’m not going to lie, this book isn’t perfect. There are places where the writing is stiff and it could do with a few more contractions. I notice this because my writing was the same right back in the Stone Age when I started writing. There are also a few broken rules, so if you’re worried about that kind of thing you know before you get started.
That being said, this book tells a beautiful story with some fun, quirky characters. There are no characters quite like Adam, Felix and Felix’ mother Birgit. They are, in some ways, larger than life, but never caricatures.
There is so much effortless diversity, so much life and so many teenage hormones flying around. Adam and Felix are an unlikely pair but Adam’s slow, gentle overtures lead them along the path of friendship to something much more. They make mistakes along the way, and do some pretty stupid things, but they’re kids. Despite what a lot of reviewers seem to think it’s absolutely fine for young characters to behave immaturely because they are…er…immature.
Adam is the kind of genuine, solid influence that I would have loved to have in my children’s lives as they grew up. He can cook, he can keep house, he’s responsible…he can cook. Yes, he makes mistakes, like the one that send him to London in the first place, but that’s okay. We all make mistakes. What’s important is that his heart is solid gold.
Brigit is hilarious. She’s not exactly the most responsible mother, although she does her best and has an amazing relationship with both Felix and Adam. There were times when I wanted to slap her and times when I wanted to hug her. Damn sure there were times when I wanted to go out and just let my hair down with her. She seems like the kind of lady who knows how to have a good time.
Although, as I have said, the book has its flaws it also has a great story, some wonderful characters and a whole load of flavour. I very strongly recommend it to those who like a slow burn, low angst book with quirky characters and a happy ending.
RATING: 