Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: If Walls Could Talk
AUTHOR: Finn
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 394 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1 2019
BLURB:
Louis Stan has always been an outcast. There is no denying that the walls he has put up between
himself and other people are the cause of this but being gay hasn’t helped either. However, being an outsider isn’t his only problem.
Louis has always tried to see the light, even in the darkest times, but with each passing day, it gets harder. He becomes more closed off, not letting the light reach him.
But sometimes a voice is all we need to hear.
As the soft voice of a caring boy slips through his bedroom wall, Louis finds himself seeing little bits of that light again. But with it, Louis notices the darkness from the past, that he tried to move on from, starts to become illuminated.
Will this mystery boy help Louis bring down his walls, or will the past continue to haunt him?
REVIEW:
The story is about a young man, Louis. He lives with his aunt after the death of his parents, but their relationship is less than great. Bullied at school and struggling with guilt over his parents’ death, he’s drowning. The only thing keeping his head above the water is a mysterious voice
coming through his bedroom wall from the apartment next door. As his relationship with his aunt deteriorates and the pressure at school increases, Louis fast approaches breaking point. Then he meets Isaac, the voice behind the wall, and life takes a different turn yet again.
By far my favourite part of the book are the characters. The author has real talent for drawing beautifully flawed characters and giving them all unique voices. The relationships between the characters are real and cohesive and they absolutely carry the story.
For me, there are three parts to what makes a good book. The story, the characters and the writing. I can’t fault this book on the first two, however, no matter how good the contents are, they have to be contained within a sound vessel to flourish. I can’t, in all honesty, say that the writing in this book is good. It isn’t terrible, but it is stiff and often immature. I don’t think there’s a page that doesn’t have passive voice and the head-hopping is constant.
There are poor descriptions and bad word choices, that sometimes make it difficult to read. I know that, being a writer, I am hyper aware, and it often frustrates me that reviewers can be far too pedantic when it comes to grammar and style. I am the first to say that a good story and good characters far outweigh the technical quality of the writing, but in this case, they couldn’t be separated.
With some honest, quality editing, this could be a great book. At the moment it’s a great story, with some awesome characters but full of flaws and difficult to read.
RATING: 
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