Floating Twigs by Charles Tabb

By: Charles Tabb
Narrated by: Neill Thorne
Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-04-20
Language: English
Publisher: Charles Tabb

It’s 1968 in the rural coastline town of Denton, Florida, and the only thing with a tougher life than 12-year-old Jack Turner is a starving dog named Bones. When they meet while Jack is fishing, Jack knows that he and Bones are meant for each other, and he promises his oft-absent alcoholic parents that he’ll somehow get a job to pay for his new dog’s food and care.

In the process of finding work, Jack meets Hank Pittman, a middle-aged man who lives in a dilapidated school bus at the harbor, and Mrs. Mary Jane Dawson, an eccentric but kind older woman in need of gardening help. As Bones nurses back to health, Hank and Mrs. Dawson become the caring parents Jack never had.

But gossip and lies about Jack’s growing relationships lead to an attack on Bones’ life and questions about Hank’s past. When Hank is put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, everything Jack holds dear is set in the balance of that small-town courtroom.

Floating Twigs is a timeless coming-of-age story about a boy and his dog, the responsibilities that come with loving others, and how, sometimes, one small moment can change a life forever.

Thoughts
There was so much more to this book than I was expecting, and I loved every minute of it, it was one of the best books I’ve read. The author drew me into the book from the first paragraph and I loved spending some time in Denton, Florida. I liked all the characters except a few (but they add so much to the book) and each of them were so well written that I felt like I knew them.

Having Roger and Lee as his best friends, his only friends,  was a Blessing to Jack a few times throughout the book, and I loved the bond they had. The other boys in the story added another dimension to the book. I felt sad for Jack and his home life. When he found Bones I was glad he finally he had something in his life that would give him so much happiness and love, and Hank and Mrs. Dawson added even more.

This book shows small town life at it’s best and worst. It had the town’s wealthiest and poorest, the kindest and the meanest, the helpful and the trouble makers. It had it all!

I LOVED this book! One night I kept turning off my iPhone and tried to go to sleep but I couldn’t stop thinking about the book, and ended up doing that about 3 times. I finally gave up and finished it. Good thing I didn’t have to get up at 5:30 to go to work!

A lot of people have said they don’t read books with animals because they get sad. This book does have some sad things in it concerning Bones, but the overall theme concerning him is that he is found by Jack who loved and cared for him and they love each other and have a very close bond. And no, Bones does not die during the book.

I really liked the narrator, he did a great job!

This is the first book I’ve read by Tabb but I will definitely try another one.

If you haven’t read this one, give it a try, it’s such a good book. It is a 5* with 1,059 ratings.