Customer Reviews

Cross Roads

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dorothy Jordan has decided that she has got to get away from Southern Pines, North Carolina. Her husband has gone astray and now it's just her and her two sons, Johnnie and Bobby. Before she can make that move, death has stolen her best friend, Paula Wilson and in a rush, Dot is certain that she's making the right move for her family. She needs to first go up to New York, find a job and a place and then she'll send for her sons. Life has got to get better for them. Doesn't it?

However, before Dorothy has a chance to make things right in New York, murder has come again to Southern Pines, North Carolina. This time the victim is her mother-in-law, who was raising the boys until Dorothy got settled in. Is there something Dorothy isn't telling her sons?

Johnnie and Bobby Jordan are saddened by the loss of their grandmother and hate that they have to move away from the comfort of their home. Johnny, a once hearty child, sticks to himself and locks away all of the hurt he's experienced while diving into art. Bobby is completely smitten by the differences New York has to offer. He is quickly intertwined with a mixture of kids adding both bad and good qualities to his character.

New York changes the Jordan family completely bringing about depression, secrets and valuable lessons. Will this once loving family be able to get back on track?

Cross Roads is an okay read that I wish would've offered a little more.

Brothers eight year old Bobby and ten year old Johnny live with their single mother Dorothy Jordan. Born and bred in North Carolina in the late 1950's, the Jordan family encounters tragedy when Dorothy's best friend is murdered. She decides to move her children to New York. While looking for housing in NY, Dorothy leaves the boys with their grandmother...who is also mysteriously murdered.
Dorothy is stunned, and quickly moves her boys to Brooklyn New York to start a new life.
Being inquisitive, the boys ask their mother all kinds of questions about the killings, which have affected them deeply. Dorothy avoids their questions and enrolls them in school hoping their new surroundings will make them forget what happened back in North Carolina.

Bed-Sty Brooklyn is nothing like down south. The apartment is small and the neighborhood is rough with street gangs controlling sections of the neighborhood. Johnny and Bobby settle into new schools, Johnny is smart but quiet and keeps himself occupied by drawing. Bobby the more out going of the two makes friends at school. Dorothy is very protective of her sons and when Bobby unwillingly gets involved with a street gang, and almost gets himself killed she ups and moves the boys to a different neighborhood; Something she does regular making the boys very suspicious of their mother, especially, as she refuses to answer any questions concerning their grandmother's death, leading them to think their mother knows a lot more about the murders than she says. Bobby notices how Johnny sometimes looks at his mother with hatred. Those looks were only the beginning...Little did he know Johnny internalized his feelings and was slowly becoming someone they wouldn't recognize...

Bobby and Johnny witness a lot when they were young and impressionable, and were left to speculate on the out come while coming of age in unfamiliar surroundings.

This compelling drama, gives us an inside look of the long term effects pain and tragedy can cause if not addressed.

Kudos! The cover of this book was very nicely done. I thought the character Bobby was written a little too mature for his age.
I enjoyed this story of the brother's struggles to be accepted in the big city. I thought their mother Dorothy would have had some more drama to her past, but I was satisfied with the outcome of the story on a whole.

Locksie
ARC Book Club Inc.
Star Rating ****4.0

Bobby and Johnny never knew moving to New York to be with their mother would change their lives forever.

Johnny, the elder brother, has always looked out for his younger brother. Not having a father in the home made him realize that he was the not only his brother's protector but his mother's helper. Loving the slow way of life in Southern Pines, Johnny tries to cope with his mother's constant moving and his deep depression. Learning that he despises his mother can only bring him to an edge that he might soon fall over.

Bobby has always been impressionable and love to follow the crowd. Remembering little moments of his life in the South, Bobby has fallen in line with the New York madness. Seeing that his brother is going through his problems, Bobby is enticed and winds up with one of the most notorious gangs in the New York. Even the constant location switch by his mother doesn't stop Bobby from running with the tough crowd. Bobby wonders if he has gotten himself into something that he wishes he could get out of.

Crossroads does offer positive and uplifting moments which really focus on the main character Bobby. The charm of the novel has such a Southern feel that you feel like you are reading it on a Sunday afternoon instead of a Monday night. There are quite a few of unanswered questions and quite a few scenes that were brought up and not addressed again. With this said, overall the novel was an okay read.

Living in Southern Pines, North Carolina, the Jordan family is accustomed to a slower pace of living. An easy, friendly town where everyone knows everyone and everyone feels safe and secure. Over the course of one night, life for the Jordan family will make an abrupt change causing the two brothers, Johnny and Bobby, to experience loss, adaptation and one hasty move after another.

Uprooting from the serene quiet of Southern Pines, Bobby and Johnny are now reunited with their mother and living in Bed Sty, New York. Still uncertain about the circumstances of their departure, the brothers are simply trying to grow more comfortable with their new home, which is easier said than done since every time they turn around their mother has a new place for them. It appears that their mother is running from something. Could it be that she has not been completely honest with her sons?

Johnny, the older of the two brothers, enjoys drawing and going to school. He's trying to keep his younger brother out of the streets while concealing resentment towards their mother. Is Johnny able to mask his emotions?

Bobby, the younger more influential brother, has taken a liking to big city living. No matter how many times they move, Bobby finds himself either too friendly with the neighborhood thugs or on their bad side. Right away Bobby is inducted into a club, one that deals with alcohol, drugs and violence. As an ally, Bobby sees the good in being affiliated, but like all good things there is a bad part. What will it take to keep Bobby out of harm's way?

Cross Roads probes into the life of a teenager in the 1950's, properly laced with the vernacular, clothing and description of the times. Cross Roads illustrate how gangs, drugs and crime have plagued urban America for centuries. Though I enjoyed the easy feel to the novel and the positive outcome for our central character, I am still left with a ton of unanswered questions. Yet, I would enjoy reading something else from newcomer Carl Patterson.

Two siblings long for the days of their once quiet life in Southern Pines, North Carolina. An older brother dramatized by the death of his grandmother. A younger brother that wants to fit in. A mother struggles to raise two young boys on her own. Gang fights over territory. These are just some of the happenings you will encounter in Cross Roads, Carl Patterson's debut novel.

Two brothers come of age in New York after being whisked away by their mother from North Carolina. Big city living is certainly in contrast to what they were accustomed to. Invaluable lessons will be learned in the classroom known as the streets. Patterson's descriptive language transports readers back in time. Cross Roads is a refreshingly different read. However, with its conclusion, readers are left with many, many unanswered questions. Not sequel like questions, but rather incompleteness. That said, it'll be interesting to see what Patterson does with his next novel.

Reviewed by: Toni
3.5 stars

After tragedy strikes their hometown of Southern Pines, North Carolina, single mother Dorothy and her two young sons Bobby and Johnny relocate to the bustling city of Brooklyn, New York.

Although the purpose of the move was for a better life, Brooklyn proves to be a new concern for the young mother as the gang infested city is leaving its lasting impression on her youngest boy, Bobby. Dorothy's continuous moves from one neighborhood to the next further complicate matters and have Bobby bouncing around multiple gang territories, not to mention befriending its members.

As Bobby battles with the fast city life and gets hip to the ins and outs of gang life, his brother is approaching his mental breaking point. Through his newly found artistic talent, .Johnny, always the laid back "good son", displays ill-feelings he has harbored for his mother that stem back to his last years in the south.

Carl Patterson showcases his talent in this compelling coming of age story told in the voice of the young but mature Bobby. Expecting the same old storyline, I was pleasantly surprised at the freshness and substance of the plot. This novel was touching and real with just the right amount of mystery to make me keep reading. It would come as no surprise to me if we soon see a shelf of books by Mr. Patterson to accompany this exceptional debut.

Englishruler
ARC Book Club Inc.
Star Rating: 5 Stars