Friday, August 23, 2013

Hillari's Head by Tim Stutler Review

I won a copy from Goodreads First Reads.


"Paralegal Kristina Orris has moved to San Diego seeking a new life – a  normal life. She is burdened by the memory of Hillari, a sister with an oversized head and disfigured face. Home-schooled by a protective single father, Kristina herself had a vexing speech impediment and rarely left the house while growing up. But after her dad died, she knew she couldn’t stay. Kristina dreamed of being a lawyer. Pursuing such a goal might prove painful for any cloistered, mumbling orphan; but it would be impossible yoked to Hillari. At 18, Kristina abandoned her home, her past – and Hillari.

Now, eight years later, Kristina meets attorney Gideon “Duck” Ducker, “the single homeliest man she had ever laid eyes on.” But she instantly bonds with the warm, self-effacing lawyer. Kristina takes a paralegal job at Duck’s law firm, where the two are thrown into the most tumultuous and fascinating case of their lives. Everything is coming together nicely for Kristina. Only one thing prevents her from becoming the confident, fulfilled woman she longs to be: the swelling burden of guilt and shame over her past. But is it too late to redeem herself?"

This review will be short.

Hillari's Head is an entertaining book. I know it probably isn't very appealing to many readers, but it is pretty appealing to me. Probably because my brother is similar to Hillari (he has autism), but mostly because I relate to Kristina, or at least at first. Hillari's Head is great and inspiring, especially to those people or siblings of children with disabilities or unique features of physical form. It is easy for me to connect with Kristina and understand how she feels.

The beginning of Hillari's Head is amazing. I got suck right into the story and didn't stop until halfway through the book when I had to eat lunch. (Hey, reviewers have to eat too.) The plot of Hillari's Head goes up and down. Just when I think everything will be okay, it's a huge no-no and bad-bad-bad. I love how close (personal) and crazy the plot gets. The author's writing is okay. I mainly got sucked into the story by the synopsis and Kristina's blog snippets.

The ending of Hillari's Head is so sad. I almost cried, but no. I think I much stronger and resistant than I used to be, so I don't cry that often as before.

Told from Kristina's POV, Hillari's Head is an fascinating book with crazy gunman and hilarious dead lawyers.

Rating: Four out of Five

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