Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Book Review: Destiny Gardens by John Harrison

Destiny Gardens
By John Harrison
Publisher: House Bean Boy
Published: June 11 2013
ASIN: B00DMIX5P4

Amazon Synopsis:

A disparate group of abandoned kids in the late 1950's band together for survival in a vacant and derelict public meeting hall. In their Dickensian world, they cross paths with Mafia godfather, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and a sinister New Orleans pimp named Rance Charles who has arrived to reclaim what's his. In the style of Stephen King's THE BODY (aka Stand by Me), and the novels of S.E. Hinton, DESTINY GARDENS opens a door into a world not long ago where the definition of “child” and “adult” was a distinction without a difference.

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My Thoughts:

Destiny Gardens is an excellent look at what life might have been like for an orphaned or runaway youth in the 1950’s. Banding together, they become the family for one another that they don’t have.

The author who has extensive experience in directing film, has done an exceptional job in his first foray into literary fiction. He has created rich scenery and developed characters that feel very real. The reader will become attached to each of the protagonists. Their histories are smoothly woven into the story.

The author wrote the book from the third person point of view narration, but ended with the first person point of view. I really liked this as it personalized the story and added a nice touch to the book. This was a lovely debut as a novelist.

This story is suitable for readers of literary fiction of all ages from teens to adults. I gave Destiny Gardens 4 stars out of 5.


Thank you to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

John Harrison is an award winning writer and director in film and television whose work has included scifi (Frank Herbert’s DUNE), horror (Tales from The Darkside; Clive Barker’s Book of Blood) and animation (Disney’s Dinosaur). Destiny Gardens is his first novel.

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