Henry Franks: A Novel

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

I could hear the scratching wind, see the swinging moss, feel the heat create sweat on my brow, and fell in love with a monster.

Though, it all depends on how you define a monster. That's what this book is about. I don't want to spoil anything, but this book is thrilling and makes you think. It's thoroughly enjoyable, mysterious, dark, twisting, and so goddamn good. It stays good if you can't read it in a single sitting, and it certainly lingers when you've finished reading it.

I'm all about characters, building them, progress them, and making them come to life.I like to guess, wonder and try to figure out the mystery but I do not like it when I can see it coming so early.
I love the visualization, the feeling, the little details. I see things in my mind as I read and it's so vital that an author shows instead of tells, so that way I can really get into a book.

Basically, that's Henry Franks. It has everything I love, and I can't see a single downside. It's like the perfect book for me and I'm so thankful to have won it, to get to read it. I had an inkling where the book was going to go, but it didn't turn out exactly like I expected. I was gripped by the story and was attached to all the characters, in different ways. I could really see and feel the setting, and the characters.

I always say, adults should read young adult books too. It's not just for children, it's not junior books. There are so many great books that people miss out on just because of the genre. This is on my list of favorites. This book will get recommended by me for everyone. This is an example book of a great YA fiction.
-
-
As for what the other reviewers said, I do agree the ending unfolded so quickly. I was torn from wanting to read as quickly as possible due to the adrenalin pumping climax, and having to go back to re-read to keep everything straight. That of course, just might be my own hastened reading. I don't really have a problem with the quick ending, it was building the whole book and don't see how else it could have come out, except as a flood. That's just all IMHO of course.

With the paperback ARC I received I didn't have any format problems with the newspaper clippings. If there were other errors, I was so engrossed with the story I didn't get into my usual nit-picking mode. That was refreshing for me. ( )

Henry Franks, 16, suffers from amnesia and is seeing psychotherapist Dr. Margaret Saville to recover his declarative memory. From his father, a physician supposedly working in forensics at the local hospital, Henry knows that a year ago he emerged from a coma after a catastrophic accident that apparently killed his mother. The boy has all the scars that would support Dr. William Franks’ version of events, and no one else with whom he can verify the details. He is ostracized at school, bullied, and called “Frankenstein”. Besides father and therapist, the only person to show kindness to him is girl-next-door Justine, a cheerleader with honey-brown eyes. The information Henry has been provided about his past does not satisfy the teenager that he is, in fact, a person called "Henry Franks". He is tormented by dreams in which a young child calls him “daddy”, by the notion that his name is really "Victor", and by the horrible thought that he is responsible for the deaths of these dream people: daughter, Elizabeth; wife, Alexandra; and himself. It doesn't help that Henry’s father--apparently a workaholic, who only comes home to slap fast-food burgers on the table and feed a homeless person from the back porch--is too aloof and preoccupied for Henry to approach for answers. Each evening Dr. Franks barricades himself in his locked bedroom to do who knows what. As Justine and Henry develop a friendship, and then something more, they attempt to piece together Henry’s missing history. The only way to go about it, they feel, is to uncover the secret of Henry’s father’s identity. Their investigation unfolds as serial murders occur and Hurricane Erika barrels towards the coastal islands of Georgia, where the story is set. A number of “surprises” occur along the way, and Henry ultimately discovers who he is.

Peter Adam Salomon’s young adult novel is an interesting hybrid of genres. Combining elements of science fiction with mystery, horror and a dab of romance, the novel also includes the obligatory search for identity that is so characteristic of young adult realistic fiction. Does the book work? To some extent. Salomon is very good at creating a dark. foreboding atmosphere by incorporating a number of southern gothic elements into his work. Henry and Dr. Franks reside in a huge, dark and dusty old mansion whose heavy curtains are always closed to the oppressively humid summer heat of Georgia. Spanish moss is draped from trees whose branches do their fair share of scraping and hissing at windows, especially during the storm scene that marks the climax of the book. The descriptive details ramp up the tension in a novel about a character plagued by dark dreams and big questions. What is less well done is the “science” part of the fiction. Throwing around a few anatomical terms and medication names isn’t enough to allow discerning readers suspension of their disbelief, never mind convince them that Dr. Franks could single-handedly perform some of the medical procedures attributed to him. The ending is all a bit rushed and far too pat. The early promise of this atmospheric novel, with characters whose names are pulled directly from Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN, to provide us with a modern-day retelling of the classic 19th-century monster tale, is not fully realized. The romantic elements are also quite weak,especially the melodramatic dialogue between Henry's parents and Henry and Justine. Characterization is also not as strong as it could be.

In the end, the skill to develop and carry through the interesting premise of the novel is lacking. One admires the author for his ambition, but what started off well becomes a bit silly. I suspect that many middle school students—girls and boys alike—could become engaged with the novel. It’s a quick read, and not without some merit, but ultimately disappointing.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance reading copy of this novel for review purposes. ( )

Henry Franks is one strange story, but the character of Henry is very easy to like and identify with. The author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing exactly what is going on. I was hooked almost from the beginning and gladly went where the author wanted to take me. Between the therapy sessions, the soon to arrive hurricane, the serial killer operating on the islands and the mysterious comings and goings of Henry's father, there was much to keep the readers interest. For the ending the reader needs to suspend any rational belief, and I have to say that though I had my guesses that there was no way I could have actually conceived of the truth. Thou this is billed as a young adult read it was actually creepier than many adult reads. ARC from NetGalley. ( )