Review: Just Gone by William Kowalski. 04/19/2018

I happen to come across the books, “Rapid Reads” by different authors and this is the latest one and I found it inspiriting and education. I think that all the books are written with a message to the reader and this one was for teenagers and others who need insight for exploited and abused inner-city victims. It’s a short novel that ties in with mystical urban legends within the inner cities.

The book was written well and the message was very clear and understanding. The story emphasizes on the lives of poor children who have suffered through some form of violence and abuse. There is an inner-city shelter managed by Mother Angelique for homeless mothers and children. One day she had two new needy orphaned children named Jamal and his sister Chantay who were living on the streets. They were dirty, covered with rat bites, hungry and scared. Mother Angelique fed them and tried to find a home for them. They begged her not to call the authorities because they were afraid they would be separated.

She didn’t report them because she was fascinated with seven-year-old Jamal and his many stories. Mother Angelique starts accepting that the world may contain stranger truths than her faith can expect. ( )

This book was an excellent way to start my day... 2 cups of coffee and a good book...there is no better start to a wonderful day. Kudos to William Kowalski and his book Just Gone. This book was very inspiring. There really are still amazing people in this vast world we live in and those who help the children are truly inspiring. This well-written book made me smile and at times made me want to cry also. A short read that flows smoothly and draws in the reader quickly. Look forward to reading more by this author...job well done!!! ( )

Just Gone is a Rapid Reads novel and true to its name it won't take you long to read. It is only a hundred pages or so and the print is nice and big. But the story spans several decades. And I think the large time span coupled with the short length limits the depths of the characters to some extent. You get to know the narrator, Mother Angelique, best because she is, obviously, a constant in the story. But the two children we are introduced to that she is trying to help we only see in little snapshots. We see them as little children and then we get to see them after they have had to survive in the world for years on their own. You get the idea of what happened in the intervening years but no details. So you don't really get to know them that well. The story does a good job of giving the reader a feeling for the despair and hardship of poverty and living in the streets. But it does so without leaving the reader without any hope of better things to come. It has the feeling of an urban legend to me. (Which is appropriate considering the plot.) It’s like a story told over and over until some of the details have been lost and some things have become rather vague. Everyone has heard it but no one can remember how it started and you are almost sure if you hear it again it will not be exactly the same. The concept is good and the narrator interesting so the book is a good way to spend an hour or so but if it had been any longer I think I would have lost interest. ( )

This is the second story I have read in this line of books and I quite enjoyed it. The author manages to tell a rather complex story in a short amount of words. I would recommend these books for someone with a long commute who wants something they can get lost in for an hour or so. ( )

This is a rapid read book and it truly is. I read it in a couple of hours.

This book is very well written and entertaining. The story is about a woman who works in a shelter in a inner city. She meets two children one night and in her effort to help them she learns of a man who is called Jacky Wacky that helps the children who are hungry or hurt.

It is a great story and one that I hope as a person has some truth in it.

Great book! ( )