Review – Echo

Cassie Dixon is back in book two of the Sensations Series by Clint Kelly. To help their family friends cope with the trials of raising a deaf son, Cody, the Dixons embark on a camping trip in the Cascade Mountains with the Fergusons. Cassie hopes this trip will bring the Fergusons closer together and provide her with an opportunity to rejuvenate after her failed venture in the perfume industry.

But Cody has other ideas.

Suffocating under his mother’s over protective umbrella, Cody hatches a plan to disappear in the wilderness. To show his family that, though he is deaf, he is capable. That he needs space and a chance to become the young man he knows he can be. Unfortunately, Cody didn’t plan for all of the dangers lurking in the Cascades and the race is on to stay alive, drawing his family and friends into danger.

Kelly pens a novel with strong prose and interesting characters who tug at your emotions right from the start. Cody, written from the boy’s point of view, captures your heart from the first page. In fact, I rarely like prologues, but this one penned in Cody’s voice instantly drew me into the story. There were moments when I found Cody’s thoughts to be beyond the depth of a typical thirteen year old boy, but even so he is a boy you would be proud to call your own child.

Though Echo is classified as a suspense novel, and it is at times, I found the book to be less about suspense and more about the interpersonal struggles of the Ferguson family. So if you’re looking for a fast paced, keep you riveted in your seat kind of book, until the second half you will be disappointed. But if you are looking for a tender depiction of a handicapped thirteen year old boys struggle for independence and a fair shot at the world that builds into an intriguing plot, this is your book.