Half a Heart

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Logan will steal your heart, especially with his sweetness, resourcefulness, and with his inherent goodness. Characters are believable, and the pacing is great. Loved it!

What a great story. I loved the characters and how they didn't just disappear at the end. I have been in a slump not finding anything that interested me. I finished this I a couple of evenings because I couldn't put it down.

MY REVIEW OF “HALF A HEART” BY KAREN McQUESTION

Kudos to Karen McQuestion, Author of “Half a Heart” for writing such an emotional, significant, and thought-provoking story. The genre for this story is Fiction. The topics discussed in this story are important issues that happen in society today.

The Author describes her characters as flawed, complicated and complex possibly due to the circumstances. If you are emotional like me, be sure to have Kleenex ready. The father in the story is an angry alcoholic, living in a dysfunctional way. He is portrayed as a bully and takes his anger out on his 9-year-old son Logan. Logan has been emotionally traumatized and physically abused by the hands of his father. Terrified of his father, Logan runs away. Besides the emotional and physical scars that 9 year old Logan has, he can’t speak. From what he has seen, psychologically, Logan can’t talk. He is mute. His mother is dead. He has been told his beloved Grandmother has died.

What is so disturbing to me, that in Logan’s adventures, no one seems to want to see a neglected skinny boy, with a taped shoe. Fortunately, there have been a few wonderful and kind teachers in his life.

Logan is resourceful and manages to hide, and get food for a few days. The people he seems to meet are kind and concerned. Not only do some people touch Logan’s life, but Logan has made a difference in a few people’s life as well. I like that there is a lovable dog in the story as well.

Logan doesn’t know his Grandmother is alive,has been searching for him. She has hired a detective. His abusive father kept moving around, and purposely excluded her from Logan’s life. Logan’s Grandmother knows that the father is a very dangerous man. The Grandmother keeps tearfully saying that Logan is “half of her heart”. How will Logan be safe? Will his Grandmother be able to find Logan?

I appreciate that the author brings up such significant issues as physically and emotionally abused children, bullying, alcoholism, addiction and violence. What does it take to help the victims, and stop the violence? The author also discusses the importance of family, friends, hope and love. I would highly recommend this novel for those who read fiction. I received an Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley for my honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Ever so often a book comes along that I truly can not put down. That grabs me from the start and does not let go. Takes my breath away. Makes me feel like I’m there. Honestly has me hooked from the first page. This was one of those books. I’ve been fortunate enough to read some very good books via NetGalley and from different authors for reviewing and loved them. This one however truly will stay on my mind for a long time.

Logan is a 9 year old little boy who can’t talk and is living a tough life. His dad is a mean drunk who loves to bully him, beat him and blame him for everything that goes wrong. Logan takes it and keeps on going. He has learned how to become invisible when he needs too. Logan has not spoken since his mom died when he was about 6 years old. Just one more thing for his dad to blame on him.

Logan ends up running away out of pure fear of his dad. He is terrified of the jerk. He hides in the back of a moving truck and ends up in another state. He has to fend for himself and does a pretty good job of it. He has five dollars to his name and dressed in rags. Shoes that are so worn that one is held together by duct tape. He knows or believes if he ever has to go back to his dad that the man will kill him. He decides that if he is caught he will say he can’t remember anything. He can’t talk anyway.

Logan has no idea that his Grandma Nan is looking for him. He believes she died. That’s what his dad had told him. She’s been looking for him and thought she had found him. But they had moved just a few months prior to that. She won’t give up though. She finds out where he was last seen but so did his dad who took off after him.

Ok I could keep telling you about this story and possibly give something away but I won’t. I can’t stand for anyone to tell me anything about a book I’m reading, other than it’s good, so I don’t do it to others. Just believe me it’s a great book. A very emotional, sad yet happy in parts too, keep you on the edge story that you won’t soon forget. Logan will worm his way into your heart and stay there. He’s a very lovable little boy who does the right thing even when he is desperate and alone. He’s a survivor for sure and his Grandma Nan never gives up.

It’s just a great book. I loved it. I wish I could truly do this book justice but the words just won’t come. It’s one you need to read. Root for Logan and Grandma Nan. It’s so worth reading by anyone that loves a happy ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for the honor of reading this awesome story

Highly emotional- but never over the top- story of an abused child and the grandmother who is searching for him. Logan hasn't spoken since his mother died three years ago and his father just keeps getting worse. Running away is his solution but it's not really. The good thing, though, is that there is someone out there who cares for him. His journey, and his back story, is told in a dual narrative that will make you feel better about humanity. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I received a ARC from the author via Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed!

This is one of those reads that gives you the "feels." I am not going to lie, the first chapter was a little rough for me to take. You get introduced to nine year old Logan, the main character who is also mute, and his current living situation, which includes his dad, his dad's girlfriend, and his dad's girlfriend's daughter. You are immediately thrown into a situation where Logan is basically fighting for his life against his very abusive father as the others just watch. So Logan runs, and this sets up the journey of the book. After that one chapter I immediately fell for Logan, so I was campaigning for him through the rest of the book, and of course I had a hatred built for his father.

You meet Logan's Gandma Nan, who was his mother's mom. She has been looking for Logan for years. The author tells you Logan's back story through Grandma Nan's current search for Logan. You meet a set of neighbors- Joanne, Laura, and Paul- and their stories, through Logan's journey. It is an interesting way how the story sets up and how it all comes together. I ended up keeping it together pretty well until the end. There was a part with a teacher and just thinking about it now is making me tear up. Told you this book has the feels! I don't want to say too much about the end, but I liked it, and I could even see a sequel. This is definitely a book I want for my shelves.

Another hit from Karen McQuestion! I totally enjoyed this book, it really brought out my emotions and I alternated between laughing and crying. This is a powerful read, that really grabs you by the heart and takes you on a roller coaster of emotions.
Logan goes through so much - and the sad thing is that there are kids like this, maybe they can talk, but they live with terribly dysfunctional families, and often their teachers are the only ones who offer compassion and take care of them, at least for part of their day.
I couldn't put this book down, McQuestion weaves a wonderfully sad, yet happy tale.
The characters are well written and I could see this kind of story happening anywhere in the country.
You'll enjoy the book! I won't give you any more about the plot, as I don't want to spoil anything.

The author sent me a copy with no expectations, and this is my honest review.

Although she has written many books, I had never heard of author, Karen McQuestion. When I saw today's book, Half a Heart, available through my blogging association with NetGalley, I read the description of the book and found it interesting, so I opted in to read and review it.  Now that I've finished this book, I'm certain I'll try to catch up with some of McQuestion's other books because this one was great!

This story is about a 9 year old boy named Logan.  Logan's father is an angry alcoholic who is very dysfunctional. He is a bully and takes his anger out on Logan by emotionally traumatizing and physically abusing him. Logan is terrified of his father and he runs away.  In addition to Logan's physical and emotional scars, he can’t speak and is mute. Logan's mother is dead and he has been told that his beloved Grandmother Nan has died.

Logan manages to hide and get food for a few days after he runs away.  He hides in a moving van that takes him 3 hours away to another state.  The people he meets along the way are very heartwarming too.

Logan's grandmother follows clues and does her own sort of detective work so she can find out what has happened to Logan. Grandma Nan rescues Logan and at the end, she and Logan's father meet up and have a strong and physical confrontation.  Logan learns that love can heal and help him find a way to communicate.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for my review.  I would like to thank St Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to participate, read and review this book. My views are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone else!

Give yourself a very special treat, a bouquet if you will, and read this wonderful story. This is the journey of a little boy (who cannot speak a word due to trauma) running away from an abusive father, the people he encounters along the way, the people who knew him before. There is definitely suspense but this really is about fortitude, hope, redemption. There are parts I just closed my eyes and sighed. I often find quoting passages I've highlighted best explain what I cannot put into words:

"Didn't they know he wanted to talk? He tried all the time, but his tongue froze in his mouth, and his throat convulsed. He wanted to talk more than anything, but he found it as impossible as trying to fly. Having no voice was a special kind of torture. He didn't choose this."

An interaction between the incredible speech therapist and Logan was exquisite:

Therapist: "Your teacher says you don't seem very happy. I'd like to help you if I can. Will you let me?"
Logan: He didn't answer that question but she was onto him now.
Therapist: "Okay, how about this? I will never try to get you to talk against your will. I won't try to trick you into doing it, and you don't even have to answer me unless you want to."
Logan: Looks up from the table with a small smile.
Therapist: "I have an idea. A special way of communicating, just between us. If I ask you a question, and you want to say yes, just give me a thumbs-up, like this. And if you want to tell me no, touch your nose like this. You'll remember because nose means no, and a thumbs-up is a yes. Do you think that would work out for you?"
Logan: Pulls his arm out from under the table and rested it on the surface. Slowly he clenched his hand into a fist and stuck his thumb upward.
Therapist, who has glorious red hair and freckles: "I had a twin brother who was also cursed with ugly red hair and freckles."
Logan: Thinks that if he could talk, he would have said he liked the way she looked. Instead he pointed to her hair and gave it a thumbs-up.
Therapist: "Well, thank you, Logan. I appreciate the compliment."

The first of two indications as to where the title of the book originated:

"The emotional trauma that came with her daughter's death was the worst thing she's ever endured, and it was ongoing, her grief raw and unyielding. If not for Logan, she doubted she would have survived the pain. He was the other half of her heart, and now he was gone."

"She found it amazing that people could hold so much stuff in their minds for as long as they did. Dates and memories and all manner of information. When to file income taxes and how to cook a turkey. How often to replace furnace filters and what to do if the smoke detectors went off. so much to keep in your head! History and holiday traditions and anniversaries and birth dates of family members The human brain constantly sifted through data and memories, retaining what would be useful in the future and deciding what could be discarded, and it did this day after day, year after year, for decades on end, Astounding how much stuff rattled around in a person's noggin. No wonder some of it leaked out on occasion."

Whew! A very. ❤felt story with a young ? named Logan living with his alcoholic and abusive dad, Robert. His character was pissing me off throughout the book! Robert abused Logan by withholding food, clothing, verbal & physical abuse as well. What a poor excuse for a man that should ? and protect his son. They moved so frequently and lost touch with Grandma Nan for two years. Robert told Logan that his Grandma was died. A bald-faced lie. So, after enduring a few days homeless at the age of nine, his father finds him and threatens him again.

There was an older ?, Joanne, whose property the young boy spent time staying. He lives up in a ? house which belonged to her grown son when he was a kid. Fortunately, his Grandma Nan was searching for him and had the help of the police. I wasn't sure if this book would end for the better but it did. Definite 5 ? ? ? ? ? rating. I would recommend it as a fabulous read.