G1112 Book Review of Free Pizza by G.C. McRae
Author: G.C. McRae
ISBN: 978-0-9939183-8-4
Publisher: Self published
Type of book: Canada, coming of age, 90s, young adult, hi-jinks, friendship, adoption, birth family, adopted parents, history, stamps
Year it was published: 2019
Summary:
Brian McSpadden is always hungry. Does he have a disease? Worms? Does it have something to do with his being adopted? He spends his days at his crazy friend Danny's house, hoping for snacks, but nothing seems to fill the void.
Then Brian receives a mysterious birthday card that says, Free Pizza. He soon discovers the card has nothing to do with food and everything to do with the big questions in his life: where did I come from, why did my mother give me up and is there anyone out there who will like me the way I am?
Characters:
Main characters include Brian, the oldest and adopted son of an old couple who later on had two sons. There is also Danny and his wacky family of siblings and parents. In fact, it seemed as if every character in the book is best described as wacky and memorable. Most of the focus was on the events rather than the characters' growth, and a lot of times I found the story a bit confusing. Basically Brian was Danny's sidekick and one gets the sense that he lives vicariously through his friend's adventure. Danny is a magnet for trouble and misunderstandings, but at the same time he is afraid of his older sister Cindy and dislikes his younger brother Randy.
Theme:
I read the book from cover to cover and have no idea what I should have learned from it; perhaps that things are not what they seem?
Plot:
The story is in first person narrative from Brian's point of view. The summary, in my opinion, doesn't match up the tale of the book; that is the events happen, but from the back summary I personally thought more of the plot would be dedicated to the events,but instead the whole tale is of nothing but the mischief that he and his friend have caused. I'll also be honest in saying that the friend is far more interesting than the protagonist. I also sense that this is a hybrid of the past but with modern day technology.
(From iRead Book Tours)
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Add to Goodreads
Meet the Author:
G.C. McRae is the bestselling author of two young adult novels, three illustrated children's books and a collection of original fairy tales. His writing is fall-down funny, even when the theme is darker than a coal-miner’s cough. McRae reads to anybody at any time, in person or online, for free, which probably explains why he meets so many people and sells so many books.
In his latest work, Free Pizza, McRae spins the highly emotional themes from his decidedly unfunny childhood into a brilliantly comic yarn. After being given up for adoption by his teenage mom back when single girls were forced to hide unplanned pregnancies, his adoptive parents didn’t exactly keep him under the stairs but, well, let's just say, there were spiders.
A lot has changed since then. McRae’s own children have now grown and he runs a small farm with his wife, who is herself an award-winning writer.
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ LibraryThing
Opinion:
In a good way, this book was really reminiscent of the 90s books I grew up with, namely MANIAC MAGEE by Jerry Spinelli. So if you are missing the 90s YA literature of exaggerated characters as well as focus on friendships, then FREE PIZZA should be a good nostalgic read. However, I expected the story to be quite different than the way it turned out. For instance, I thought that there would be a lot more emphasis on Brian's background and his emotions about finding his birth mom. Instead, the book focuses a whole lot on Brian's and his friend's hi-jinks. There seems to be very little about what the book summary led me to believe what will happen. Despite that, its a good read filled with memorable and humorous scenes, characters that stand out, and snappy writing.
This is for iRead Book Tours
BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
May 1 - Working Mommy Journal - review
May 1 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review / guest post / giveaway
May 2 - 100 Pages A Day - review / giveaway
May 2 - #redhead.with.book - book spotlight / giveaway
May 2 - Corinne Rodrigues - book spotlight / giveaway
May 3 - Paulette's Papers - book spotlight / giveaway
May 3 - Life as Leels - review
May 6 - Ginger Mom & Company - review
May 6 - Literary Flits - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 7 - Locks, Hooks and Books - review / giveaway
May 7 - T's Stuff - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 8 - Words And Peace - book spotlight / interview / giveaway
May 9 - Character Madness and Musings - book spotlight / interview / giveaway
May 9 - StoreyBook Reviews - review
May 10 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway
May 10 - Found in Words - review / author interview
May 13 - Truly Trendy - review
May 14 - Books for Books - review
May 14 - Readers' Muse - review / guest post / giveaway
May 14 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
May 15 - FUONLYKNEW - review / giveaway
May 15 - A Fountain of Books - review / interview / giveaway
May 16 - Sahar's Blog - review
May 16 - bookmyopia - review
May 17 - Books Direct - review / guest post / giveaway
May 17 - KC Beanie Boos Collection - review / giveaway
TBD - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
I also featured this book that sounds great. How are you doing? haven't heard from you at all for the tour Exposed on France Book Tours. This is highly unusual for you not to answer my emails, I'm worried. Emma at France Book tours
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