Thank you to Legend Press for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I'm so happy to be a part of this book tour! Make sure you check the banner below and go read everyone else's posts.
Goodreads Synopsis
Under the shadow of trauma, Liam has been discharged from the army. As night terrors torment him and he struggles to keep his anger intact, he finds himself in his car, his daughter Alannah asleep in the back, while his wife Emma has gone AWOL. With no idea where to go for shelter, his only goal is to hold onto his daughter at all costs. But Alannah is on a journey of her own.
As the consequences of Alannah's choices unfold, nothing will ever be the same again.
Review
Soldier Boy was not what I expected at all and I was surprised at how many messages this book carried. This is a very deep, raw and meaningful story with so many layers that it's hard to not find yourself attached to these characters and what they are going through.
This is a story of secrets, fear and being true to who you are no matter how hard the journey is. We follow this family as they go through the different changes and struggles. Liam has been discharged from the army and is trying to cope with being back to normal whilst struggling with his anger and his constant night terrors. Emma is struggling with the change of having her husband back and how she's become uneasy in her own home. Alannah is struggling with who she is. At the age of 11 Alannah is convinced there is something wrong with her body and how she identifies herself.
Whilst this book deals with a lot of heavy and sensitive content but in my opinion the way Parkin has wrote them was incredibly well done. It opens your eyes to different situations that people could be going through, even from such a young age. I also really liked how the story was told with each chapter flowing into the next one by using the last word from the previous chapter. I found that this made it even harder to put the book down.
Overall, this was a brilliant, eye-opening and emotional story that I recommend everyone picks up and reads. Whilst this book is full of so many different messages it also has a lot of trigger warnings that you need to take into account. If you would like to know more about these warnings drop me a message either on here or on my instagram
Rating: 4/5 stars
