Description: Carter Colby is the most unpopular teen at Jefferson High. This would be easier to deal with if his identical twin brother, Marcus, weren’t the hottest, most popular boy in school. When Marcus is killed in a motorcycle accident, Carter discovers the one thing more painful than trying to compete with Mr. Wonderful: wearing his dead brother’s face. He felt invisible before the accident, but with Marcus dead, everybody turns away from him in mourning. How can he blame them? He can’t bear to look in the mirror. When Carter begins to see Marcus’ ghost, Mr. Wonderful’s quest to save the world and spread happiness may not be over after all, even in death. Marcus knows that Justin Dewar, the boy who drove the truck that crashed into his motorbike, is struggling with the guilt of taking a life. Melanie, Marcus’ mourning girlfriend, was also hit hard by the tragedy. Marcus wants to make things right before it’s too late. With Marcus’ help, Carter experiences love and friendship for the first time in his life. But is Mr. Wonderful’s helping hand enough for Carter, Melanie, and Justin - three kids fully broken by the tragedy - to save one another? |
About The Author: Kevin Craig is the author of four previous novels: Summer on Fire, Sebastian’s Poet, The Reasons and Burn Baby Burn Baby. He is a 4-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. Kevin is also a playwright and has had eight 10-minute plays produced. His poetry, short stories, memoir and articles have been published internationally. Kevin was a founding member of the Ontario Writers’ Conference and a long-time member of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR). He is represented by literary agent Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group. Find Kevin Craig Online: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |
Carter Colby. Marcus Colby. Identical twins, right down to the mole on their foot... all except for their personalities and demeanour. When you take these two factors into account, the twins are almost opposites. One quiet, shy, not many friends... the other, outgoing, popular, has a girlfriend and many friends. Due to a tragic accident, one of the boys die. This shocks everyone, especially the boy who feels responsible for the fatality. Life cannot be easy for him. But then, life can't be easy for the twin who is left behind, trying to live life, knowing everyone thinks about his dead brother, every time they take a glimpse of him. That's just downright cruel.
I found this novel to be a great story about love, friendship, brotherhood, and family life. This Young Adult book gets to the depth of your soul in a very short time. It makes you think about serious emotional issues, such as death, the afterlife, divorce, mental health issues and a few others, I don't want to mention, or I'll ruin the story for you. It's a fast read, I read my copy of the book in two nights. I should have called in sick, so I could finish reading it in one day. Next time.
Overall the story moves along at a steady pace. There were a few things that happened, that I'm still wondering why they happened. Did they have any relevance? Did I miss something? Is it possible Mr. Craig left a few breadcrumbs uneaten, so the readers will return, when the sequel is released later this year or early next year? I think I'd like to see where this story will go. And most of all, will the paranormal element continue on, as well? If so, how? I'm intrigued enough to want to read the next book Kevin Craig writes. :)
My rating: 4/5 Stars.