All For One - a review

by Ryne Douglas Pearson
My rating - 5 stars
Kindle Book
NookBook
Pearson's website (other versions available here)

Sometimes things can get complicated. Life is like that. You never really plan for it, you never hope for it, and you never really know quite how to handle it. When something does happen, something unexpected, you make a choice and you live with it. Maybe your choice wasn’t the best. Maybe you could have done things differently. But you made it, you can’t undo it, and the next part is living with its consequences.

That, from my reading of All for One, is the essence of this wonderfully written and tragic tale of six children and their teacher caught up in the mystery of the death of a classmate. As you follow the course of this tale from their simple decision made at the beginning through the intricate web of its consequences, you too will find yourself drawn into it as I was. Each of the characters has his own story. Each is constructed by Pearson with a depth of detail that I found captivating. And each, as you will discover, is both intriguing and heartbreaking.

I was told before reading this book that it was “dark.” As descriptive of a complex human tragedy, that is exactly what this story is. As such, you must be willing accept that there are dark places in the human soul, places that most would turn away from rather than glimpse. You must be willing to walk the path of fear and darkness to its end. And you must be willing to stand at the precipice and watch its conclusion with eyes wide open. If you are so willing, be not afraid, you will find yourself having read a truly wonderful book. When I have read a story of this power, I am left with but two words for the author. Thank you.