Amazon Best-selling Historical Romance

Amazon Best-selling Historical Romance
Escape to a romantic period where love endured, grew, and flourished despite a Civil War.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury is a touching, beautifully written story published by Zondervan, copyright 2010. It's 320 pages with discussion questions that make it possible to use the novel for a study group. I smiled, laughed, and cried my way through it and didn't want to put it down.

Holden Harris is eighteen years old and locked away in a prison of autism. Ella Reynolds is a popular cheerleader who seems to live the ideal life and have everything a girl could want down to the football hero, until she catches him bullying and breaks up with him.

She's drawn to Holden, and his love of music and drama makes her decide to reach out to him. She discovers they're old friends while spending time with the family photo albums. The same music they shared as young children bring them together again, after a decade of being torn apart by their families. Ella and Holden's mothers were best friends until his autism drove their friendship apart. Ella and Holden's dads were friends until the same wedge planted itself between their relationship. Ella's mother and father grow apart. Holden's father finds escape on a shrimp boat in dangerous seas and risks his life to avoid a son he's unable to reach. Holden lost his Ella, but their relationship wasn't the only one lost.

Ella reaches out to a special-needs student at her school and finds the childhood friend who left her a decade earlier. He's never forgotten her, and music and drama bring them together again. Can Holden break the chains that hold him in his own private prison? Will Ella and the music he loves be the keys to unlock Holden Harris for the world?

This novel will rip your heart in two as Holden Harris transforms from the beast of autism into a prince. Bullying, suicide, and marriages falling apart are handled in such a way to make this a truly life-changing novel, and it's Holden Harris who changes lives and becomes an inspiration to so many. It didn't take Ella long to realize who the true prince of Fulton High was.

Though the disability in this book is autism, anyone who loves a child with special needs will enjoy this novel. It's a great adult and teen read. Ella wonders what happened to her family and discovers they all lost with Holden's loss, but God works a miracle and Holden is the instrument He uses to renew hope and bring these families together again. Their lives are unlocked with music, drama, Holden, and love, the type of love that despite all odds never goes away. Even when one mother pushes them all apart, the hearts carry that love locked away inside for over a decade, and Ella realizes Holden wasn't the only one who needed unlocking.

9 comments:

Toyin O. said...

It sounds lika an engrossing book;thanks for sharing.

Toyin O. said...

It sounds lika an engrossing book;thanks for sharing.

B. J. Robinson said...

Toyin, it is a great book. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Blessings, Barb

Nan said...

Barb, I used to work with special needs children, several of which were autistic. Autism is fascinating. I am so glad there is a novel out there to help educate people. You did a great job on your review.

Sweet blessings to you!
Nan

B. J. Robinson said...

Thanks, Nan, for reading and commenting. The novel is great. I loved it. I also worked with Autisic children one year, and I enjoyed it. It really meant a lot when you saw them make headway. One student found a Sandhill crane on the computer and was so happy. It meant a lot to him. It was on a reading program, and his whole face lit up. Blessings, Barb

Gigi Murfitt said...

Thanks for a wonderful review of "Unlocked". I also cried through it. I have a son born with special needs unrelated to the Autism spectrum but I know many people in this spectrum. Karen did a fabulous job of understanding this world. THanks for a great review. I'm going to post it on my FB account. Take care.

B. J. Robinson said...

Gigi, I'm glad you enjoyed the review. One of my sons is learning disabled, and I've worked with special needs students including Autisic ones. Thanks for posting it on your Facebook. Have a happy, blessed Thanksgiving. Blessings, Barb

Li-An Austin said...

This looks like a great read. Thank you for recommending it.

Li-An Austin said...

This looks like a great read. Thank you for recommending it.