Hello Treasures! Today I’m reviewing The Right Kind of Fool. This is a story about a young deaf boy and his dad! Let’s jump right in. I had a couple of opinions on this story. XD
Thirteen-year-old Loyal Raines is supposed to stay close to home on a hot summer day in 1934. When he slips away for a quick swim in the river and finds a dead body, he wishes he’d obeyed his mother. The ripples caused by his discovery will impact the town of Beverly, West Virginia, in ways no one could have imagined.
The first person those ripples disturb is Loyal’s absentee father. When Creed Raines realized his infant son was deaf, he headed for the hills, returning only to help meet his family’s basic needs. But when Loyal, now a young teen, stumbles upon a murder it’s his father he runs to tell–shaping the words with his hands. As Creed is pulled into the investigation he discovers that what sets his son apart isn’t his inability to hear but rather his courage. Longing to reclaim the life he abandoned, Creed will have to do more than help solve a murder if he wants to win his family’s hearts again.
The Characters
Mixed feelings on the characters. I really appreciated Creed and his character development. I loved his mistakes and his working to fix them. His personality was intriguing. So I liked reading about him.
Delphy, however, was my least favorite in the whole book. She was an entitled needy woman. I think her insecurities were written in the wrong way that they seemed as though she though Creed OWED her all these things in life, and he was a selfish jerk not to have given them to her. I didn’t like how she treated Loyal either. He wasn’t a baby anymore. She was mean to Creed, and Creed was my fluff muffin.
Loyal was a spoiled child, but he had enough interesting parts to him that he made the story good. He threw too many fits. He got over upset about the littlest things, and he didn’t have any self control. His knowledge in sign language and his active mind was good for the plotline.
The Plot
The first half of the plot was AWESOME. I got through three quarters of the book in one day. It was so fun! And that plot twist was like WHAT IN THE WORLD? I even told my dad that I had it figured out and there was still too much of the book left.
Unfortunately what proceeded after the plot twist was just meh. The book wouldn’t be as good if there hadn’t been the plot twist, but I feel like it was written because the author didn’t want to write the plot conclusion with the complications it would bring before the plot twist.
The era was super confusing for me too. It was small town, they had cars, but there was only one sheriff, and the government men were buying land from settlers. So I think I’m just not well educated on the era that the author chose, but it felt like an odd mix of facts.
The Content
There was a murder, but it was not graphic. The murder was not described. There was also a fight and a couple people get shot. Still not graphic. Additionally, although there is no sensual or sexual scenes, Creed and Delphy are married, and he is drawn to her in the way a man is drawn to his wife. It’s all sweet and appropriate, but it’s there.
In Summary
I give this story a three and a half star rating. Michael and Rebecca and Sam and Virgil and Earl were all good additions to the story and the plot was good. I think this is gonna be one of those books I didn’t love but a couple months from now I’ll remember it and want to re-read. The sign language and deaf aspect was well written and handled and I liked that a lot. But quite a few things were a miss for me.
Do you like reading books about characters with disabilities? Do you have a preference? How do you overcome your own personal challenges? Let’s chat in the comments!
Thank you Sarah Thomas and Bethany House for sending me a copy of this book! A positive review was not required and all Opinions were my own.
Hm, it sounds like something worth giving a try!