A beautiful first person telling of the life of one unique boy and his faith. Born with ocular albinoism to a very religious mother, Sam deals with a childhood full of discrimination and bullying. His mom is his ardent supporter and he finds two similarly suffering friends who have his back. We follow Sam, focusing on his relationships with his parents and friends as well as his faith which is threatened by his life experience. Though faith is a central theme, the book is not preachy. Anyone who has struggled with the meaning of hardship will appreciate Sam's journey. The characters are rich and relatable. A very good read.

Sam Hill has red eyes - hence Sam Hell. And through those eyes, we saw a world not only from the perspective of a man who faced his own variations of hell but also the conflict of accepting a religion that seemingly didn't save him from those hells. The life of Sam Hill was indeed extraordinary because his abnormality gave us a commentary on the abnormalities of the human condition.

I should mention a trigger warning for murder, suicide and, verbal and physical abuse.

The cast of characters, more specifically Sam, his parents and his best friends Ernie and Mickie show a us that there are all types of misfits and discrimination but there are also advocates willing to love and support them. With the overarching theme of faith, literally with Catholicism at the heart of the story and the faith they had to have in each other, this book is a life story that shows us how much people fear to be different.



The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell isn't extraordinary because of he had many feats but rather because of the lessons he's learned through the struggles he's faced, and the man he realized that he could be despite it all. Whether we are different or same, we are all extraordinary because we are individuals and how we live as such is what makes life interesting.

Dugoni takes a break from his mystery series to write both a coming of age story that evolves into an adult’s look back at the choices he made. Born with red pupils, Sam has been teased mercilessly all his life. He makes do, but it’s not until another misfit, Ernie Cantwell, the only black kid in school, shows up, that Sam finally finds a friend. That friendship is sorely tested when a girl enters the picture, making Sam question himself, Ernie and the feelings that have risen up like a tidal wave inside him. Four decades later, Sam is an eye doctor, trying to help others, trying to atone for his past. I have a real fondness for coming of age stories, and Dugoni captures both the pettiness and ignorance of small towns, but also the closeness and love that are found there as well