American Flowers 

By Michael McLellan

My review:

American Flowers by Michael A. McLellan is a book about two teens, both from broken homes, who are struggling to get their lives together. Chris is caught up in drugs and Allie needs to find a place to live. Neither one of them have much support from anyone.

Something these two characters have in common is horrible parents. They haven’t been loved or instructed properly by anyone. Chris is in a bad spot due to poor decision-making; he just doesn’t have the mental capacity, mainly because he’s living with an alcoholic father who couldn’t care less about him. Allie was just thrust into a bad position because her dad left, and a man her mother got involved with ended up abusing her. Allie tried to tell the truth but nobody believes her–she’s simply told to stop making up stories which is incredibly distressing. These parts in the book were hard to read for me because it’s a horrible position to be in, especially for a troubled teen. When Allie meets Chris, they fall in love with each other and one thing leads to another sending them both down a dark and dangerous path.

This is my second book by Michael A. McLellan and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll be honest, some of the content in the book is hard to read, especially if you have issues reading about drug addiction and everything that goes along with it. The scenes are written so well though, accurately exposing the dangers of meth and how it can erode you physically and mentally. This would be a good book for young adults, but probably on the older side of the spectrum due to the mature content.

Overall, this book gripped me from front to back. I love the author’s style of writing and his books keep me engaged. I always appreciate a good twist and there’s a big one here that shocked me. The book is totally unpredictable! With that said, I had a love/hate relationship with the ending of the book, only because I wanted more of an ending. I sat for awhile in complete shock and questioned a few things. It’s hard to figure out how the title fits with the story until the end of the book which was really clever. I won’t share and spoil everything, but I highly recommend this book. Try it and see what you think.

Michael McLellan has become a favorite author and I can’t wait to read more.

4.5-stars

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From Goodreads:

Nineteen-year-old Chris Shafer and seventeen-year-old Allie Laughton came from similar backgrounds of neglect and indifference. Chris spent his childhood desperately trying to gain his alcoholic parents’ love. Allie was dragged through an ugly divorce before narrowly escaping being molested by her mother’s new boyfriend.

A chance meeting draws the two together and Allie is quickly caught up in Chris’ new-found lifestyle. Plagued by poor choices, Chris sets into motion a chain of events that drags them deeper into the murky world of meth. Ultimately pursued by both the police and Chris’ volatile tempered drug dealer, Chris and Allie are forced to confront their only real enemy: themselves.

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 2nd edition (August 20, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1548712671
• ISBN-13: 978-1548712679

Find this book on Goodreads and Amazon

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Enter the giveaway! 2 winners! The giveaway includes a $10 Amazon gift card and 6 eBooks (Three of Michael McLellan’s novels, two mysteries by Sarah Pearce, and 1 random choice)

This giveaway is international! Ends Saturday April 14th at 12am CST

Or Click Here

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About the author:

Michael’s love of books began with Beverly Cleary’s The Mouse and the Motorcycle when he was seven-years-old. Later influenced by the works of John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Stephen King, and Cormac McCarthy, Michael developed his style of storytelling. A self-proclaimed blue-collar writer, he draws on his experiences and observations to bring relevant and compelling topics to life.

Michael lives in Northern California and when he’s not writing, he can usually be found wandering around the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

His body of work includes the 2014 novel After and Again, the 2015 novel American Flowers, and the shorts Joe Price and Anywhere But Here. Michael’s newest novel, In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree, was released on April 26th 2017 by Sweet Candy Press.

You can find Michael A. McLellan @

Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Amazon

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Thanks for checking out my review and good luck on the giveaway if you enter! Feel free to share thoughts or suggestions below.

❤ Mischenko