Official Review: 2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo

[Prisallen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "2612 Cherryhill Lane" by Glenn Vo.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Life was good for Jonathan, being an outstanding quarterback in high school with a gorgeous girlfriend; he had also received a full scholarship to play football in college. After leading his team to a Texas state football championship, things suddenly went horribly wrong. After answering a text while driving, he had a terrible car accident, resulting in him losing his legs and his little sister forfeiting her life. His father, blaming Jonathan for his sister’s death, avoids him and seems to loathe him, and his girlfriend leaves him. Jonathan is terribly depressed and thinks there is nothing to live for. Then, he meets Samantha, a college student who was hired by his mother to be his personal assistant. Can she draw him out of his shell and convince him his life still has a purpose?

2612 Cherryhill Lane by Glenn Vo is a romance novel written from the third-person point of view. The author’s descriptive writing style is easy to understand, and the story flows smoothly in a linear-time fashion. The importance of family and friends, forgiveness, and atonement are all themes skillfully addressed in the book.

Poignantly demonstrated, the primary message in the book is that texting and driving can alter a person’s entire life. I think this is a pressing issue, especially in this age of easily accessed cell phones, and I commend the author for bringing attention to it. As such, I think it is my favorite aspect of the novel. This would be an excellent book for teenagers to read to remind them of the dangers of texting and driving.

Faith in God represents a chief aspect of the book. There are several Bible verses interwoven into the story. Non-Christians might not appreciate this as much as Christians would; although, there is nothing derogatory about other religions.

However, not everything was great. I wanted a little less “telling” in the story and a little more “showing.” Plus, things were sometimes repetitive and could have been written more concisely. An example is, “. . . Jonathan asked Samantha how she felt about going home for Thanksgiving break . . . ‘How do you feel about going back home?’ ” There was no need for the first sentence since he was reiterating it in the question. This was my least favorite part of the book.

I encountered several grammatical and punctuation errors in the story, mostly in the form of missing commas. Although these were not distracting or numerous, too many were seen to achieve a perfect score. It could use another round of editing.

After careful consideration, 2612 Cherryhill Lane achieves a rating of three out of four stars. One star was taken away because of the issues above. I felt it was too good for a rating of two.

No sex was discovered in the story other than kissing, and there were no profanities. As mentioned above, this would be an excellent book for teenagers (and, for that matter, adults) to read to caution against texting and driving. Romance lovers and readers who enjoy books about faith would also appreciate it.

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2612 Cherryhill Lane
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[Kelyn]

Don't text and drive is a message that cannot be said enough times. I'm glad that it's making its way into books for youth to encounter there as well. Wonderfully written review, thanks!

[Laura Lee]

Wow. Sounds gut-wrenching. Thank you for such a clear, insightful analysis. I enjoyed your review.

[Nerea]

I appreciate the fact that this is a romance book, but there are no profanities nor sexual content portrayed in the context. Sounds like a clean material. I might check the book. Thank you for your insightful review. Good job.

[That Reviewer]

I can relate to a story were you have your life ahead of you and one incident will let all hell loose in your life. That's a pretty bad place to be and most people don't come out from it. It takes great strength to find meaning out of life when you've lost the things that are most important to you.

[Ellylion]

Texting and driving is truly a plague of nowadays.. Can't be stressed enough. Sounds like a touching love story, would love to give it a try even in spite of all the mentioned above issues. Thank you for a great review!

[gen_g]

I wholly agree with your point about not "telling" but "showing" – I think telling spoils a lot of a reader's immersion, since it's a form of info-dumping, which is always a pity! Thank you for your insightful review. (:

[Julius_]

A book focusing on the effects of texting and driving a car. Sounds great. Thanks for the review.

[Faithmwangi]

The effects of texting and driving cannot be stressed enough. It is good that the author brought it to our attention once again. Thanks for the review.

[Prisallen]

Don't text and drive is a message that cannot be said enough times. I'm glad that it's making its way into books for youth to encounter there as well. Wonderfully written review, thanks!

I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[Prisallen]

Wow. Sounds gut-wrenching. Thank you for such a clear, insightful analysis. I enjoyed your review.

Thank you so much for the kind words and for stopping by!

[Prisallen]

I appreciate the fact that this is a romance book, but there are no profanities nor sexual content portrayed in the context. Sounds like a clean material. I might check the book. Thank you for your insightful review. Good job.

It is clean, which is refreshing. I hope you get a chance to read it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[Prisallen]

I can relate to a story were you have your life ahead of you and one incident will let all hell loose in your life. That's a pretty bad place to be and most people don't come out from it. It takes great strength to find meaning out of life when you've lost the things that are most important to you.

I'm sorry you had to go through that. I hope you are in a better place now. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

[Prisallen]

Texting and driving is truly a plague of nowadays.. Can't be stressed enough. Sounds like a touching love story, would love to give it a try even in spite of all the mentioned above issues. Thank you for a great review!

Yes, it truly is! I hope you get a chance to read the book. Thanks, my friend, for stopping by and commenting!

[Prisallen]

I wholly agree with your point about not "telling" but "showing" – I think telling spoils a lot of a reader's immersion, since it's a form of info-dumping, which is always a pity! Thank you for your insightful review. (:

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, my friend! It's always good to read your thoughts.