500 Miles (An MLR Mixed Tape)
Parker Williams is definitely an author to watch out for... I LOVED THIS!!!
“I wanted you to be my first. my only” I admitted. He pulled me down to the bed and lay down on top of me. “Thank you. You’re everything I ever wanted in my life. I love you”
Parker Williams in his debut as an author has delivered a heart warming and stunningly beautiful tale that will have you grabbing for the tissues. I am super excited about this book and the promise of more to come from this talented author who fills this novella with friendship, love, despair, strength, courage and hope. We see two young men selflessly give their hearts and prove that in the end love really does conquer all… even when their lives are encompassed by the cruelties of war… along with the physical and psychological impact it has on those at home and abroad.
Mark at the age of 14 falls for his brothers best friend Jase. He was kind to him and treated him with respect… and not like his friends kid brother, which at 14 years of age is definitely something you want to happy dance about, especially when the boy in question is 17 and you have the whole hero worship going on and like every other teenager who gets those starry eyes and tummy flutters… it’s love and his whole world revolves around Jase.
It is narrated by Mark and spans a few years and as readers we see how cleverly Parker Williams matures Mark’s voice and emotions as he grows, it’s not complicated or poetic in it’s delivery, what we do have are the feelings of a boy at the stage in his life when everything seems so simple and uncomplicated… you fall in love and that feeling in all it’s intensity is forever… simple!!! Until said object of affection signs up to go to Afghanistan with Mark’s brother and the feeling of being abandoned becomes overwhelming. For a while Jase sends him tapes and Mark sends letters and care parcels and all is right with the world. When Mark receives a tape, not from Jase but his brother Eric, trying very delicately to inform him that Jase had met a girl and intends to marry… to a 15 year old boy in love the bottom pretty much falls out of your world, and at that age it’s hard to see the bigger picture… when promises are made, they are treasured and dear, so when Jase told him “I will walk all the way home if I have to, Mark. We’re coming back for you, I promise” He believed him!
When I finished reading 500 Miles, it gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling and made me feel good about the world, and how these two boys, regardless of what life had thrown at them, Mark and Jase overcame all the heartache and pain, and not for a moment did their love wane… they were soul mates and nothing, not even the tragedies that war brings could come between them.
Parker Williams, certainly has a huge vote of confidence from me and I am very much looking forward to what the delightful man will bring us next… actually, I can’t wait, so Mr Williams you had best get a wriggle on!!
