Won from Goodreads for my husband.

My husband could not get into this book. It is now available

Will be sending to perryfran as part of the wishlist tag game.

Sending to perryfran as part of the wishlist tag game.

Received in the mail today...thanks for sending this wishlist book! We're getting ready for a move in April so may not get to this real soon but will be looking forward to reading it.

---

Amazon Editorial Review

From New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke—an atmospheric, coming-of-age story set in 1952 Texas, as the Korea War rages.

On its surface, life in Houston is as you would expect: drive-in restaurants, souped-up cars, jukeboxes, teenagers discovering their sexuality. But beneath the glitz and superficial normalcy, a class war has begun, and it is nothing like the conventional portrayal of the decade. Against this backdrop Aaron Holland Broussard discovers the poignancy of first love and a world of violence he did not know existed.

When Aaron spots the beautiful and gifted Valerie Epstein fighting with her boyfriend, Grady Harrelson, at a Galveston drive-in, he inadvertently challenges the power of the Mob and one of the richest families in Texas. He also discovers he must find the courage his father had found as an American soldier in the Great War.

Written in evocative prose, The Jealous Kind may prove to be James Lee Burke’s most encompassing work yet. As Aaron undergoes his harrowing evolution from boy to man, we can’t help but recall the inspirational and curative power of first love and how far we would go to protect it.

I've read several of Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels as well as Wayfaring Stranger which is part of the Holland family saga. The Jealous Kind is also part of his Holland family books and is narrated by Aaron Holland Broussard who is a cousin of Weldon Holland, the narrator of Wayfaring Stranger. Both of these two narrators are grandsons of Hackberry Holland who was a legendary Texas Ranger. (The Holland family tree is a little confusing in that there are two Hackberrys, both of which show up in Burke's novels. There is a website that clarifies the family tree that I thought helpful.)

In any event, I really did enjoy The Jealous Kind. It is told from Aaron's perspective as an older man but details what happened to him as a junior in high school in 1952. The novel takes place in and around Houston but the 1950s of this novel is not anywhere close to the idyllic settings of TV shows in the 50s such as Ozzie and Harriet or Leave It to Beaver. Aaron meets the love of his life, Valerie Epstein, at a drive-in in Galveston where he interrupts a fight she is having with her boyfriend, Grady. Well this leads to some very unforeseen events. Grady's family has ties to the mob and he seeks revenge on Aaron. But Aaron and his friend, Saber, a very reckless prankster, do not let Grady get the best of them. All of this leads to some very unsettling and violent consequences that were rather surprising.

Overall, I would recommend this unusual coming of age story set in the violent and dangerous world of Houston in the 50s. Burke paints a very vivid portrait of the times including the various factions trying to survive there: the Mexican gangs, the mobsters, the poor, and the rich privileged upper class. I'll look forward to more in Burke's Holland series.

Selected from the ABC VBB. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this book with me. It arrived safely today. I have not read any of the Holland novels. I am looking forward to trying it out.

As always, I savor end JLB's insights into human nature, his use of vocabulary, his grittiness when grittiness was the reality and tenderness and humanity likewise.

I find it difficult to believe that a 17 yr old boy and his friends could do the things they did. There were gaps in "who and why?"

Aaron is the youngest protagonist JLB has ever built a story around. Aaron is too young for this story. It just does not make sense.

Enjoy! KTM Release for The THE Release Challenge 2020