The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses Author K. N. Smith
Book Review
3.5 out of 5 stars!
"Welcome or unwelcome. Fate had arrived."
One eventful night twenty years ago changed fate. Now another night is bringing about change as five friends step foot in the preserve, a place surrounded by rumors and stories. They are gifted powers that heighten one of their five senses. With new powers comes new responsibilities and challenges.
An evil is coming for their sleepy and beautiful town of Danville Heights the boys will have to work together to stop it. But how can they stop it? Why is the evil coming to the town and seeking out certain boys within the group? Why were they given these gifts?
"Actual or imagined, his hurt was real. But it would not slow him down on his journey to destruction." - Druth
This book had an interesting concept with one of the five senses in the human body being heightened. I enjoyed the closeness of the boys and how they shared deep bonds of brotherhood. The guys are trying to navigate and find their footing before they graduate high school. Realizing that some of the members of their group will be graduating and leaving some behind.
It's scary when things change, and you may have to say goodbye or split up with those who have been closest to you since forever. Becoming an adult is hard! So, they are hanging onto one another before life separates them, making memories to last! But then destiny steps in and causes their worlds to spin on their heads.
When I was a teenager, I was reading more advanced reads and so I feel like this book is more for preteen then sixteen and up. This is a YA (young adult) book but there are some scenes of violence and on page murder by strangulation. Nothing gory but there is violence and some intense fight scenes. Language is mild the words I found were just "hell" and "damn" and maybe more I missed but along the same lines. There's mention of an adult who battled with alcoholism, some feelings of grief, and wanting closure.
For me, this book didn't fully hit the mark. This is all my personal opinion; you may read this book and find it utterly stunning! I'm a big fan of villains and the villain's backstory, but I felt like the "bad guy" could've had more nuance. I agree with another reviewer who said that destiny was a big thing in this story, but it felt like the boys were puppets more than they were individuals.
I appreciated the description of the two locations presented in this read to give you a grasp on how much they contrasted one another. But some of the other descriptions were a little lengthy and not fully necessary. A lot of the characters felt one dimensional and I had some questions I would have liked to have answered. This is a series and maybe with the next book some will be answered.
There was a scene in which I felt the scales of justification were off and that things could have been explained more. Different reasons and stakes presented to help make a decision. The pacing around the beginning of the book was a little slow and with some of the other events in the book I felt like it took too long to come about.
Again, this is all my personal opinion, and the book may be your next favorite series! The POVs are in third person, and we navigate around getting to see things through different characters' surroundings. This is YA and the boys are in high school so there's mention of interests in girls. A relationship but the most mentioned is kissing. There's a happy ending and a closure of an arc but openings for more to continue the series.
Enjoy the read with a tight knit group of friends and the mysterious light beings and supernatural powers! Don't forget to give the author some stars!
Amazon.com: Discovery of the Five Senses eBook : Smith, K.N.: Kindle Store
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