Sydney Canyon

In my ever evolving quest to read at least one book by everyone who writes LGBT (specifically the L part), at least those who have written something that was 'really liked' by one or more friends on here, I decided to try this book here.

It's been almost a week since I read the book, so this will be slightly difficult. Especially since everything that needs to be learned could probably be best dealt with by having me say something like *read the book description, then come back here; here's a few words on what I thought* but that's boring. So. ..

The book opens on an interesting scene in a war zone. A convoy is driving through dangerous territory, and it's under attack. During the attack, the vehicle that the main character is in is hit by at least two, maybe more, explosive devices. Fire, smoke, debris flies everywhere. The main character, though, one Staff Sergeant Darien Hollister, isn't exactly in the best position to help the situation. What with her being blinded in the explosions. So she calls out to her team, trying to get a sense if anyone else is still alive. Everything might explode at any moment, and she's not getting any responses so it's up to her to try to find the outside. Preferably gathering as many of her troops as she can on the way out.

She did, in fact, make her way out. Otherwise this would be a really short story involving someone who died in combat. And I've actually read a few of those - they are the kind of books where at the end you realize that everything that had occurred had been a flash back type of a 'this is my life' flashing through the mind of someone who refuses to die. Then does. Die that is. That isn't this type of book though.

So, book then turns to a beach. Darien Hollister is sitting on that beach starring at the setting sun. Which is hard to do since she can't see. Her best friend Val is there to help. Actually she's Darien's cousin. Though still a friend. See, it's been a week or more since I read the book, was she called 'best friend'? I can't recall.

Darien had dedicated her life to joining the US Marines. And advancing from recruit, all the way up to Staff Sergeant. She's still relatively young, but she doesn't know what to do with herself. Now that she's been honorably discharged from the Marines. And is blind.

After a longish period of time, chronologically at least, if not in pages in the book, Darien learns of a medical procedure that might help her. There's been like three surgeries. At the moment, only one has been successful - would Darien be interested? Well, considering who and what Darien is in the grand scheme of things, the possibility of making things worse with a statistically small chance she could see? She decides to have the surgery.

More time passes chronologically. She's sad that someone had to die for her to have her new eyes. And she is still unsure what to do with herself, since she's still out of the Marines. And while she still has savings, it won't last forever. So, she puts herself onto a mission - after a lot of work she learns where her eyes came from, and learns who belongs in that individuals family.

She hasn't really thought things through, despite all the time needed to learn the information she has learned, nor does she think things through before popping into a plane and flying out to where she expects to find some family members of the donor.

Takes her some time to actually drive onto the farm, drove past a couple of times. And when asked if she's there for the advertised work, she takes the easy out. And so, she gets a job on a farm. While there she meets the mother of the person who had to die so Darien could see, Beverly, Beverly's daughter-in-law and son. Plus Ernie, who works on the farm.

Darien works hard and interacts with the people there. She feels vague feelings for the daughter-in-law, which she finds vaguely wrong, and develops something of a friendship with Beverly. They have some nice moments telling stories to each other (mostly Darien discussing her joining the Marines, then her rise through the ranks).

The book was a rather nice interesting read. Enjoyable. It had both a vaguely light and heavy feeling to it - light because some events seemed to get more of a passing reference than a deep reflection, and heavy from the emotions explored and revealed through certain other events.

March 9 2016

… (mer)