In reading the synopsis, I thought this book had so much promise as a coming-of-age story and overcoming extreme obstacles. Unfortunately, I thought there was too much telling instead of letting the reader experience the story. Perhaps this is because this is targeted for a younger reading group. So, in the end this book was just okay for me.

This was not a light read by any stretch of the imagination - it covers various heavy topics including extreme poverty, abuse, and rape. By the age of ten, Drew has lived a hard life, but his adventures are only beginning. You'll easily fall in love with Drew, he's a well-developed character with plenty of depth. It's easy to imagine him as a real person navigating America in the early to mid 20th century. Cole does an excellent job of bringing the historical setting to life, drawing the reader in with vivid descriptions. Perfect for historical fiction lovers.

Drew a boy was abused from an early age
He finds neglect and poverty everywhere
At ten years old his hateful mother tells him to leave home
I got an ARC

A beautiful story about overcoming obstacles. This was well written and I look forward to seeing what else the author has to offer.

The son of a prostitute, Drew makes a vow to himself to never cry again after he leaves home.
The story follows his life in the 1930's and 40's through five states including Oklahoma,Arkansas,New Mexico,Louisiana and Texas. Racial tensions were flaring and there was the turbulence of WW II and it's effects on the country.

Pub Date 16 Apr 2016
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This book takes place in the 1930's and 1940's during racial prejudice, World war II and the depression Era.

Drew has never had it easy. Having a mother who doesnt care for him he decides to runaway at the age 10. Throughout the book he faces many people and many decisions. Trigger warnings include language, racial slurs, attempted rape and bullying.

Thank you Netgally and BooksGoSocial for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

Wow! Very emotional and kind of tough to read in places. Overall, a good book. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked this book! Great racial storyline following a six year old boy thru to his 20’s! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, thos book was pretty good, although very sad. The writing style really wasn't my type. I felt like it was more like telling a story rather than actually experiencing it.

I cant really review this book as I did try to read but just couldn't get on with it.
I did read a couple of chapters but the the style of writing was not not for me so I not saying this book was good or bad other maybe love this book.

A very emotive and beautiful story about a boy growing up in some very difficult times. The story is very well written and you can't help but feel a sense of drive and determination for the main character to do well. Brilliant debut novel, I look forward to reading more from this author

I read a whole book in 24 hours but there was no way I was putting down Never Cry Again is a complex, painful family love .. Real and raw .. Loved it!’

a story set in 1930 america boy born in neglect unloved and poor. he suffers starvation abuse and then sexual
abuse which his mother did not try to stop drove this 10 year old to leave home.What follows is his struggle to get by. But he comes out a responsible young man. Very well written hard to put down. Had to know what happens
next.

This is one of the saddest books I've ever read. Although painful to read, the story was written in such a way that I had to keep reading. Drew was a character that I could relate to, empathize with, and root for. If you like literary fiction, this book is for you!

Thank you to the author, Jim Cole, NetGalley and the publisher (Xlibris) for allowing me to read this book.

While this normally isn't my type of book to read, based on the description of the book, I wanted to really read this book. I did enjoy this coming of age book, and thought that it was extremely thought provoking, especially for a kid in the early 1930's.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical books.

This is a very well written easy read. I liked the historical references and how inspiring Drew’s story is. He is determined to do well in life.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I loved reading this book. Word of warning...this book contains some language and situations that may make some very uncomfortable. That being said I liked the realness of the story and found myself very involved in reading on to the next page even when I was tired. So it kept me very interested! I gave the book only four stars because of the language. But I understand why the language and situations were told the way they were...for me it gave the story depth and showed the intensity of the situations that occurred.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc.

This has been getting great reviews and I was excited to start reading it. While the story told is as it was presented, it just fell flat for me. The book was truly written for the teen market and I should have paid more attention to that, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what hit the sour notes for me. It was written as all "tell" with very little "show." The characters fell in and out of dialect and their dialogue seemed very formal and outdated when not speaking the local patois. The story did move along at a decent pace with a few gaps in the timeline here and there. Other times, the story was overly focused on an event, detailing every breath taken by the characters. I had a tough time connecting with any of the characters as they all seemed to be presented as either stark white good guys or deepest dark bad guys. Though it's marketed as a teen/YA read, it just seemed more appropriate for the pre-teen range for the emotional depth of the characters displayed.

I also found that the myriad of societal "ills".... poverty, racism, sexual exploitation of women and children, anti-Semitism, gun violence, and potential infertility issues were minimized and used as mere plot contrivances for a happy fairy tale story,

2 to 2.25 stars

Some women are not cut out to be mothers. Drew's mom Edith is one of them. Edith was only 13 the first time her father raped her and it wasn't much longer until the day she decided to go for a walk and never return. Having no place to stay and no way to earn money she ends up in a hotel with a married man. When he tells her that he is going back to his wife she is once again on her own. Edith ends up giving birth in a brothel and becomes a prostitute. She seems to enjoy this lifestyle as there is no shortage of other prostitutes to take care of her son, who she wants nothing to do with. This becomes a problem as Drew grows up and begins attending church, the only white boy in the all black congregation. The brothel owner feels she is already at risk having a child on the premises but the Klan may make trouble as well so Edith is sold off to one of her customers and she is not happy that she is expected to take her son with her and be a mother to him. By this point Edith is already a raging alcoholic with no maternal skills and Drew must basically fend for himself. He follows in his mother's footsteps of becoming a runaway after an attempted rape and is homeless and alone at 10 years old. Drew meets a multitude of people in his travels, some good and others who mean him harm though he never seems to give up hope of living a decent life.

This is usually my favorite time period for historical fiction and while I understand that racial tensions ran hot in the south it still seemed a bit heavier on the N word than was required and the (phonetically correct?) spellings of the way black people are portrayed as pronouncing certain words seemed over done and unnecessary. I'm not as in love with this book as I'd hoped to be.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Drew is just eleven years old when he makes his way into a church. He is older than his years. He has gone through so much in his young life, abuse, neglect. He has finally made his way to this small church, hoping to find food and shelter. What he finds is a kind priest. A priest that will nurture, protect and love him. Someone who helps him find a home and a loving father figure. He will encounter numerous people who will influence his life. He will bring the love that he has for the black people and stand up for them. Through many ordeals he will finally reach the goals that he has wanted to achieve. And one day he will become a lawyer and help change the course of history.
Phenomenal!
Great storyline and strong characters. Strongly recommended.