Missing Isaac

Paperback, ebook, hardcover, audiobook

January 2, 2018

by Valerie Fraser Luesse

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Revell 
• ISBN-13: 978-0800728786

Isaac believed in luck. But from Pete's point of view, Isaac's luck had all run out.

There was another South in the 1960s, one far removed from the marches and bombings and turmoil in the streets that were broadcast on the evening news. It was a place of inner turmoil, where ordinary people struggled to right themselves on a social landscape that was dramatically shifting beneath their feet. This is the world of Valerie Fraser Luesse's stunning debut, Missing Isaac.

It is 1965 when black field hand Isaac Reynolds goes missing from the tiny, unassuming town of Glory, Alabama. The townspeople's reactions range from concern to indifference, but one boy will stop at nothing to find out what happened to his unlikely friend. White, wealthy, and fatherless, young Pete McLean has nothing to gain and everything to lose in his relentless search for Isaac. In the process, he will discover much more than he bargained for. Before it's all over, Pete--and the people he loves most--will have to blur the hard lines of race, class, and religion. And what they discover about themselves may change some of them forever.

My thoughts:  I'm going to be honest here, which, of course, is what you're supposed to be with reviews.  MISSING ISAAC is not a book I would've ever picked up to read. In fact, I was dismayed when it showed up in my mailbox because it is not a book I wanted to read.  This book is a historical - to me, although I am not sure it would be considered one by the industry professionals, simply because it is set before my time. It starts with the mandatory historical book death, but moves on to an unlikely friendship between a  young eleven year old boy and thirty year old man, and a mixing of black and white.  Which in the sixties was pretty  much a very touchy subject. Never the twain shall meet, type thing. 

Okay, so while I wouldn't have picked this book up on my own, I did start reading it, and wow, I can see why the publisher bought it.  This is a topic that established authors would shy away from, and yet this brave debut author beat the odds with a book that some would consider a "hard-sell."  And because it is so awesomely written, even if the editor didn't like the topic (and I don't know if he or she did or not) they, if they are anything like me, was hooked. Sold. Yep, I would've bought this if I was the publisher. 

Young Pete is such a sweetheart, and so innocent. Isaac is stoic I guess is the word. He's used to others not liking him, treating him like so much trash because he's black, but Pete just doesn't get it. He sees Isaac as his daddy's best friend. A man to emulate, a man of honor. And despite Isaac's lack of formal education, he was a learned man thanks to his mama getting hands on books for him to read.  I loved Isaac. And Pete. And what Pete and his grand-daddy does at the end of the book is just so dog-gone sweet. 

Even if MISSING ISAAC is not a book you'd pick up, pick it up. These characters are so real they just walk right off the page and into your heart. And they are destined to stay there long after you close the pages of this book. 

I was given a copy free. All opinions are my own.