There’s only one word that can describe Justin right now; Alone. His older brother Duane leaves for the army and his Dad left, probably for good this time. His mom is too depressed to even get out of bed, and Justin doesn’t have anyone else there for him. Justin goes into a metal state called “The Big Nothing” where he can forget about the outside world. But as he discovers his hidden talent, he is starting to live on that talent. His hidden talent is playing the piano, and he begins to thrive on it. It becomes his escape when the “Big Nothing” world doesn’t do him justice. His friend Jemmie gives him a lot of guidance about his problems. His friendship with Jemmie begins to break as he starts having feelings for her. When Justin’s mom finds out about his feelings for Jemmie, she is devastated. As Justin is flunking in school, his english teacher is starting to become concerned. His english teacher and him share the similarity of having a love and passion for playing the piano. After listening to his english teacher playing piano, he is determined to become as good of a player as his teacher.
I don’t think I would recommend this book to someone because there were a lot of points in the book where there wasn’t much of a plot. It kind of just went on and on. It has a good moral and lesson, but for most of it there wasn’t a plot twist and it didn’t give me a motivation to want to read more of it.
The Big Nothing is another installment in the Neighborhood Series written by Adrian Fogelin. This novel revisits Cassie and Jemmie from Crossing Jordan. It’s nice to see how our characters are doing, but it’s not necessary to have read the series. Speaking of characters, Miss. Fogelin brings her spectacular characterization with the creation of Justin ‘Big’ Riggs. Justin is the quiet, helpful, and humble hero who provides a ray of sunshine in the book. Justin doesn’t know his worth, and throughout the book he is looking for some help. Between wishing for his father or his brother to come home or his best friend to notice something other than his girlfriend, Justin is having a difficult time dealing with everything. On top of all that, Justin is also an acne ridden, insecure teen trying to get the girl, the popular Jemmie. When he finds solace in music, Justin begins to grow in himself.
Upon reading this cute little heart-warmer, one finds themselves cheering for the likable Justin. Props to Adrian Fogelin for her flawless writing as you can’t even tell that it’s a grown woman writing in the perspective of a teenage boy. The war brings perspective and a time anchor to it and the plot is perfectly paced. The deeper tones of Justin’s brother’s dangers as well as the problems in Justin’s home life are matched by the adorable escapades in wooing and the wonderful nothing of music. Speaking of Justin’s brother, who is enlisted in the military, interactions through mail and email allow him to be close but not compromising his situation. All in all, The Big Nothing is a great read, and I would recommend it for a light read.
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There’s only one word that can describe Justin right now; Alone. His older brother Duane leaves for the army and his Dad left, probably for good this time. His mom is too depressed to even get out of bed, and Justin doesn’t have anyone else there for him. Justin goes into a metal state called “The Big Nothing” where he can forget about the outside world. But as he discovers his hidden talent, he is starting to live on that talent. His hidden talent is playing the piano, and he begins to thrive on it. It becomes his escape when the “Big Nothing” world doesn’t do him justice. His friend Jemmie gives him a lot of guidance about his problems. His friendship with Jemmie begins to break as he starts having feelings for her. When Justin’s mom finds out about his feelings for Jemmie, she is devastated. As Justin is flunking in school, his english teacher is starting to become concerned. His english teacher and him share the similarity of having a love and passion for playing the piano. After listening to his english teacher playing piano, he is determined to become as good of a player as his teacher.
I don’t think I would recommend this book to someone because there were a lot of points in the book where there wasn’t much of a plot. It kind of just went on and on. It has a good moral and lesson, but for most of it there wasn’t a plot twist and it didn’t give me a motivation to want to read more of it.
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The Big Nothing is another installment in the Neighborhood Series written by Adrian Fogelin. This novel revisits Cassie and Jemmie from Crossing Jordan. It’s nice to see how our characters are doing, but it’s not necessary to have read the series. Speaking of characters, Miss. Fogelin brings her spectacular characterization with the creation of Justin ‘Big’ Riggs. Justin is the quiet, helpful, and humble hero who provides a ray of sunshine in the book. Justin doesn’t know his worth, and throughout the book he is looking for some help. Between wishing for his father or his brother to come home or his best friend to notice something other than his girlfriend, Justin is having a difficult time dealing with everything. On top of all that, Justin is also an acne ridden, insecure teen trying to get the girl, the popular Jemmie. When he finds solace in music, Justin begins to grow in himself.
Upon reading this cute little heart-warmer, one finds themselves cheering for the likable Justin. Props to Adrian Fogelin for her flawless writing as you can’t even tell that it’s a grown woman writing in the perspective of a teenage boy. The war brings perspective and a time anchor to it and the plot is perfectly paced. The deeper tones of Justin’s brother’s dangers as well as the problems in Justin’s home life are matched by the adorable escapades in wooing and the wonderful nothing of music. Speaking of Justin’s brother, who is enlisted in the military, interactions through mail and email allow him to be close but not compromising his situation. All in all, The Big Nothing is a great read, and I would recommend it for a light read.
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