REVIEW: NORA & KETTLE by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

NORA & KETTLE

 Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Seventeen-year-old Kettle has had his share of adversity. As an orphaned Japanese American struggling to make a life in the aftermath of an event in history not often referred to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the removal of children from orphanages for having "one drop of Japanese blood in them" things are finally looking up. He has his hideout in an abandoned subway tunnel, a job, and his gang of Lost Boys.

Desperate to run away, the world outside her oppressive brownstone calls to naive, eighteen-year-old Nora the privileged daughter of a controlling and violent civil rights lawyer who is building a compensation case for the interned Japanese Americans. But she is trapped, enduring abuse to protect her younger sister Frankie and wishing on the stars every night for things to change.

For months, they've lived side by side, their paths crossing yet never meeting. But when Nora is nearly killed and her sister taken away, their worlds collide as Kettle, grief stricken at the loss of a friend, angrily pulls Nora from her window.

In her honeyed eyes, Kettle sees sadness and suffering. In his, Nora sees the chance to take to the window and fly away.

Set in 1953, Nora & Kettle explores the collision of two teenagers facing extraordinary hardship. Their meeting is inevitable, devastating, and ultimately healing. Their stories, "a collection of events, are each on their own harmless. But together, one after the other, they change the world."

Wow, what a magnificently scary situation, but a beautifully well written story.

It's a modern day Peter Pan with a twist of shocking events that will be a part of my life forever.

Kettle

He is our Peter Pan. He is so full of life and a strong character. Kettle tries his hardest to save lives and do all he can to help others being it good or bad for other children. He is so compassionate and a truly awesome character. The author did a fantastic job bringing every scene to life and reminding us of the prejudice is apart of society.

Nora

She is our Wendy. I must say that I can really relate to this character. I too was abused mentally an physically as a child and extremely scared of my father as well. The scenes with this character brought back some really horrifying moments from my childhood. Nora was extremely strong and loved by others so deeply that it kept her courage alive in this story. The ending of the story was phenomenal and powerful and one I am not likely to forget.

This author brought forth through the pages of this book abuse and homelessness, but still showed the love and compassion of these characters and a reminder that with love you can sore anywhere in this world. This is an inspirational story that was beautifully well written by this author and one that I highly recommend. I will treasure this story for years to come.

Clean Teen Publishing Elite Reviewers provided me with a digital ARC copy of the book for review purposes only. No remuneration was exchanged.