I couldn’t get into this book. I tried multiple times and it just didn’t grab my attention. I skimmed through hoping something would grab me but nothing ever did.

*I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I... don't know how I feel about this book.

The story was very interesting, and I enjoyed the polygamy glimpses. Each character had their own personality, and their path to learn new things.
However, there were some problems with drastic changes to character from one part of the book to the other that made me feel a little *meh* about it.

Overall it was a good read, and I'm happy with how things ended.

The cover, the title and the subject were what drew me to request the ARC of Lost Boy.

I mean Poligamy? In YA? Completely unheard of!! So I was interested BUT the story just didn't capture my attention its probably because I didn't end up connecting with any of the characters sadly. It was a quick read so if you don't really care about character connection then definitely go ahead and read it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

We occasionally get books about life inside of a cult. Far less common is the exploration of the pressures and concerns for some having left a cult. Education, social issues, drugs, grief. Everything is harder when you grew up isolated and outside the "normal" way of viewing things. So that was interesting to me. I didn't love the actual execution. It felt a bit rambling. THe turn from hopeful to rapid decline was rather sudden. THe resolution is a bit too tidy.

DNF at 22%

I just couldn't do it. This book is beyond mediocre, it's downright offensively bad. It's boring, the pacing is dismal, none of the characters are interesting or act remotely normal, the dialogue is wooden and childish, the writing is simple and awkward, the worldbuilding is awful, and it felt like a sequel, not a spin-off. I haven't read the other book that supposedly introduced Jon, the horny and passive MC, but this isn't a sequel, so I shouldn't have to read any outside material to understand this character, the world he lives in, or get any grasp on what is going on. I thought this was going to be a similar book to The Chosen One, a novel about a girl who lives in a polygamist compound and falls in love, but is assigned to marry her uncle, and has to make a perilous decision to abandon everything she's ever known for a world she knows nothing of or live a life where she can never be happy. Instead I got backstory told through long exposition paragraphs, horny teenage boys oogling boobs, emotionless passages about characters that were never introduced, and soap opera drama ("She's in the hospital!" "She's getting married on Sunday!" "To your father!") Like, please. Are you kidding me? I don't have time for garbage.

Lost Boy provides a fictional insight into the life of Jon, a polygamist escapee. Once a rule follower, he faces the possibility of punishment or exile when he is caught with the love of his life. The choice to escape is a difficult one as he leaves behind everything he knew. Luckily, his ex-polygamist friends know of a place that takes in runaways. Everything appears to be leading to a successful fresh start. But can Jon truly run from his past when it’s been ingrained?

Throughout reading this book, I had the show Escaping Polygamy in mind. With that show, it is usually through a woman’s perspective. Lost Boy offered the perspective through a teenage boy’s point of view. That is what struck my interest. I felt a strong sense of sympathy for Jon when he began to encounter troubles. We get to see what issues may arise with those who escape from a polygamist community such as Unity. Challenges such as educational, social, and emotional are witnessed.

Jon begins his journey with a head full of optimism. That soon fades when he is thrown into school life. He starts to question if he made the right decision to leave Unity. A time gap does occur to display his struggles coping with the “gentile” lifestyle. Personally, I would have liked more of an explanation into his decline. I would have liked to have seen the reasons behind what made him choose his downfall, how his new family reacted, and the struggle of finding someplace to live besides the simple explanation given. The process to recovery is relatively short, that is another area where I would have liked an expanded description.

Overall, Lost Boy is a simple yet thought provoking book to read. Anyone who is particularly into theological aspects should pick this book up. The insight it gave, although brief, did provide a realistic view on what life is like for a polygamist teenage boy. It was refreshing to read about compared to other novels that deal with a woman’s perspective.

This was an ok book. I picked it up when I was on a memoir type kick and it was a fast read for me.
It had a lot of interesting points, you cant help but fall for the leading man as he struggles with finding his place in a new world and questioning everything he was brought up with.

Oh, this book was gut wrenching and so lovely! I wasn't prepared to be as immersed in the story as I instantly became.
The book starts with a bang - Jon-without-an-H is running. Running from the abusive polygamous community where he has lived his entire life. Jon didn't necessarily want to run BUT he was caught with a girl so he HAS to run.
Jon runs to a safe house, where he has heard he may be able to find work and help. But finding help is all dependent on if Jon can escape the mental grip of the religion that has run his entire life.

I loved how well written this story is. You don't doubt Jon's love for his family, even though he has started to question the crooked, perverted teaching that has dominated his entire life. He has never seen a tv, a girl in shorts, heard of biology or Adolf Hitler, or read much of anything outside the Bible.
Jon struggles in the new world of freedom and responsibility. You can imagine how hard the adjustment is on him. Especially as he deeply cares about the girl he left behind and wants to do all he can to rescue her from the polygamous community.

I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Netgalley!

I have always been intrigued with the world of polygamy and as others have mentioned, it's certainly not a topic often approached by the world of YA. So I was thrilled to see this pop up on my radar.

The excitement quickly ended there. I made it through a little over a fourth of the book but I couldn't push myself through more of it. It was a struggle to make it as far as I did. There wasn't much depth to the characters, in my opinion, and through a fourth of the book I had yet to take any real interest in any of the characters.

That being said, I hope this opens the doors for more novels surrounding the topic to be written and released.

Note: I received a copy of Lost Boy by Shelley Hrdlitschka via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lost Boy tells the story of our main protagonist, Jon, who runs away from the polygamist community that he was raised in. The reasoning behind his escape is due to the fact that he was caught kissing a girl, which in the community of Unity, is very much against the rules. As readers, we get to follow Jon as he attempts to adjust to an entirely new life: filled with hair dye, girls in cut-off shorts, a proper education, and the ability to watch television.

Unfortunately, Jon is completely unprepared for this new lifestyle & after struggling to get through school, he falls into a life of alcohol, drugs, and homelessness.

What originally drew me in was the cover — listen, I am a sucker for a beautiful book cover. Yes, I am a person who tends to buy books, because the cover draws me in. I also really loved the Lost Boy title, because it reminded me of Peter Pan & we all know that I’m a Disney fan.

But when I read the synopsis prior to requesting the ARC, I knew it was for me. Not only was I interested in learning more about another community’s lifestyle, but when I first started reading YA, I always picked up the books that focused on a character’s downfall. If there were drugs, depression, or any other terrible experience involved, I was in. Not because I’m crazy, I promise, but because there’s something beautiful about someone facing their struggles & rising on top of it.

But, of course, this is spoiler-free & I will not be telling you Jon’s resolution. It’s up to you to see if he picks himself back up.

I will admit, my opinions did change throughout the novel. One second, I’m in it & the next second, I’m questioning if I’m even enjoying what I’m reading. I think one of my complaints is the transition between the first part & the second. I felt as if the transition wasn’t as smooth as it should be. It’s as if Jon is doing perfectly fine, but the next he’s an absolute mess, without any real reason, besides the fact that school was tough for him.

I also couldn’t find myself getting attached to any of the characters. I, of course, wanted everyone to succeed and be happy. But, I also found myself not caring if they even did. I felt there should have been a deeper relationship between character and reader, and that’s Lost Boy‘s weakest point.

In general, it is a quick read. It wasn’t terrible, at all, it just could have been stronger in terms of characters. It does have an interesting plot, and the writing is well done. I ended up giving the book three stars on Goodreads. If you’re just looking for a book to read, and don’t care as much about forming a connection with the text, then yes, I would recommend Lost Boy.

I also learned that Jon & the novel’s other characters were introduced in Shelley Hrdlistschka’s novel, Sister Wife, and I will definitely be giving that read some point soon.

Lost Boy is due out October 2nd, 2018!

The story of Lost Boy by Shelley Hrdlitschka was at times a hard read. I wanted this book to be completely fictional and have there be absolutely nothing of it that could be real, or truthful, or possible to happen in this modern day and age. But of course, that is not the case. While I have never been a part of a religious cult myself like the one discussed in this book I have had a friend that was, unfortunately, a part of one and thankfully was able to get out. The stories and memories that she tells about are similar to those that the characters went through. To know that there are women and children forced into this atmosphere is a difficult thing to think about and makes me want to help them all. Even with that mindset, I know that that is not a possible thing. Not every woman, man, and child that is a part of a situation like this is completely blind to what is going on. Just as some of the members of Unity in the story saw the errors of the Prophet and got out we have to know that there are members of Unity that see the errors and have decided to stay. Growing up in a society that is filled with wrongs does not change the fact that that is the only life that you know of. There are vast stories of people that are in abusive relationships that decide to stay in them as they do not know any other way to live and have been living their current life for far too long to feel that there is a way out.
Getting to read the story that Shelley has written was eye-opening and showed myself a privilege that I had never realized that I had. I always knew that growing up white, straight, and in the United States came with a certain amount of privileges, but the fact that I was also allowed religious freedom and allowed to choose when I decided to accept God never seemed like an impossible thing. It was something my parents just seemed fit for me to decide. The fact that I am also 20 and I am getting the amazing blessing to further my education and not being forced into an unhappy and unhealthy marriage before I was ready is quite nice as well. I am very thankful for Shelley to have written this book and that societies such as Unity are going to be talked about and the problems that they can cause to the people involved with them as well.

*I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I'm not.... I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The plot was extremely interesting. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse at what a true polygamy religion looks like. I liked the coming of age aspect when the characters realized they didn't want to live that life.

At first I wasn't really into the story but the more I read, the more I started to appreciate the characters. I thought they each had their own personality. The only thing that bothered me was Jon was a pretty hopeful guy in Part One in the book and then his personality drastically changes in Part two. There really wasn't much of an explanation has to what happened. I was slightly confused.

I thought this book read kind of like classic. It also reminded me of The Giver for some reason. Jon doesn't know much about school or clothes. Learning about it is almost like learning a foreign language to him. It was pretty interesting seeing how he slowly started to get use to the idea of people wearing shorts and bathing suits out in public.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent read. I just wish things between Part one and Part two would have been explained better. And I really enjoyed the ending. The ending gave me all kinds of hope. I don't think this book is for everyone but it was a fairly fast read!

This book was a bit underdeveloped but had promise. I did not realize that the characters were introduced on a different book before I read this, so that could add to my indifference to the story. It was definitely an interesting topic and I might go back and read Sister Wife to fully appreciate this one.

"Lost Boy" made me feel so many feelings. Working in the behavioral science field means that I have seen and heard stories of many broken people and dysfunctional families that tug at my heartstrings and this fictional story is no different.

Jon's life, first in Unity (the polygamist community he grew up in), then in Springfield, was never easy. He was the oldest of nearly twenty siblings if you added up all of the half-siblings. The Prophet in the community imposed many strict rules and regulations. Jon wanted to leave so he could have a future but did not imagine just how difficult a fresh start would be.

I was a little disappointed at how rushed part two felt. A long span of time was crammed into a few chapters so there wasn't as much room for detail, but overall I would recommend the book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The dialogue was more than cheesy in some points and there was little to no character development. I was really excited that the subject of the book was out of the norm for YA, but the execution was much less than perfect.

[I was given a free digital copy through NetGalley]

Polygamy being discussed in a YA novel was what first drew me to this book, because this topic is not usually discussed, and when it is, it is not discussed in a young adult setting or from a young adult point of view. That being said, the novel, unfortunately, fell rather flat. The characters were very one-dimensional, and there was never enough time to see any growth from the characters, or to at least understand that the changes made sense. The lessons being learned within the story were fresh because of the concept, but I think the story could have been much richer and deeper with more time, so I was sad to see the opportunity missed.

An interesting YA novel that I enjoyed reading. I would recommend this one to my friends to check out.

I've read several nonfiction books about Polygamy. While this was engaging enough to finish it didn't feel like a new story. I wanted something gritty and hard to read but this was very mellow and convenient at times. When I read a blurb about being unprepared for life, booze, and drugs I expect to feel a lot of different emotions throughout the story but unfortunately I did not. I think this book would better suit someone who has never read about Polygamy before. Would still recommend.

Rating: .5 Stars

The Sweet: The premise and the cover of this book really intrigued me, so I requested it. Polygamy isn't a well-discussed topic in YA, so props to Shelley Hrdlitschka for that. Jon struggles were real and hard to witness. Hrdlitschka depicts what polygamy does to a person in a very realistic and heart-breaking way.

The Sour: That .5 stars unfortunately comes from the cover and the premise. Lost Boys felt a little underdeveloped and quickly written. The plot was unorganized and the story line wasn't good at all. There was a myriad of grammatical errors as well. The characters were one dimensional and very child-like. It was really hard to relate to Jon because its seems as though his character was all over the place.

The Overview: The book had a lot of potential but ultimately didn't live up to me expectations. It wasn't well written or edited. It read very hurried and confusing at times. I really wanted to enjoy it but I couldn't. Don't let my feeling toward this book sway you though, you might enjoy it. It was a quick read and has a good premise.

After a string of books i was dissapointed with i started this book with little hope. I did not expect to be sucked in and enjoy it as much as i did. I know by the blurb it was going to be a tough read but i was not ready for the tears. We first meet Jon-without-an-H when he leaves "Unity" a polygamy practicing religious sect. I had such high hopes for him when he left. There were some twists and turns but the ending did not disappoint. I am so satisfied with the ending. Wish we could have seen more of how he got where he did in the epilogue but as i said i am happy with this book.