LitPick Review
Joe hasn't had an easy life. His parents were killed in a car crash when he was five and he was raised by his older brother. Besides that, Joe also has developmental disabilities that have prevented him from becoming a functioning member of society. He can't read and has limited cognitive abilities, so he's not sure what to make of his twin brother's disappearance. But when Alvin's ex- girlfriend Julia shows up, he decides to accompany her back to Tennessee and work at her family's hotel. It is here that Joe discovers the truth about Alvin's disappearance and just how much Julia's family is involved.
Opinion:
This One Time With Julia was a lot different from other books I've read, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it that much. The only character I sympathized with was Joe because he seemed very genuine and sweet. But he was so unobservant that it made him an unreliable narrator. It was hard to get into the story when the main character doesn't even really know what's going on. I didn't like any of the other characters, and none of them were developed beyond a few superficial characters. A lot of them just seemed like a caricatures of people. I didn't care for the plot, as there was a lot of telling about events and not showing them. For example, Joe discovers the truth about Alvin's disappearance via a ghost/hallucination. The only good thing about This One Time With Julia is that it's a short and easy read.
