Leaving Montana by Thomas Whaley
*WINNER of the 2015 ERIC HOFFER AWARD for a Small Press Published work. *WINNER of the 2015 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE BOOK AWARD for Literary Fiction. *WINNER of the GOLD MEDAL in the 2015 READER’S FAVORITE AWARDS in the General Fiction category. *WINNER of the 2015 OUTSTANDING FIRST NOVEL AWARD from the Independent Author Network. From…
*WINNER of the 2015 ERIC HOFFER AWARD for a Small Press Published work.
*WINNER of the 2015 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE BOOK AWARD for Literary Fiction.
*WINNER of the GOLD MEDAL in the 2015 READER’S FAVORITE AWARDS in the General Fiction category.
*WINNER of the 2015 OUTSTANDING FIRST NOVEL AWARD from the Independent Author Network.
From the Official Website…
“Saying that Benjamin Sean Quinn had “anger issues” was an understatement. For those who knew him for the shortest amount of time, his life was in order: He was physically fit, had a great job which provided him a house in the suburbs and the material things he desired, a loving, monogamous relationship, two happy, healthy daughters and an established circle of friends. In all accounts, his life seemed perfect. But to those who knew him the longest, they knew he was an idle grenade, waiting for someone to pull the pin.
For decades, Ben did his best to conquer his demons; to suppress the anger he accumulated towards his parents, Carmella and Sean, throughout their tumultuous marriage. Ben was their only child; forced to witness and experience things that most adults couldn’t even try to handle. He could not escape them or the anger, and no matter how hard he tried, as he matured, it became a part of him. Ben strived to end the toxic cycle and avoid adopting their pattern as part of his own life. By the time he reached his early thirties, he finally seemed to have it all under control.
Then Ben’s father told him a “secret”. One left in Montana when he and Carmella were stationed there forty years earlier. It would exhume the painful memories and suppressed anger that Ben had been avoiding for years and force him to relive his past in order to face his future.
Today Benjamin Sean Quinn boards a plane to Billings, Montana. It was time to face the secret head on and let go of the anger that silently ruled his life. It would be the boldest move he ever made, ultimately changing his life and the lives of those around him.”
” I love this book!”
Five Star Review on Amazon By Megan A. Cyrulewski
For a lot of you who know me, know that I don’t really post a lot of book reviews on my blog. I love books – it’s just that I need more time to read them! But when I come across a book that I feel is truly special and unique, I have to spread the word; and this is exactly how I felt after I read Tom’s book, Leaving Montana.
Tom and I met through Facebook and I featured him on my blog a while ago. We both had our book releases this month – only three days apart. Tom sent me his book as a thank you for the feature. (I know I still owe you mine, Tom!) His book had been sitting on my “must-read” pile for a couple of weeks. Just to give you a snapshot of the pile – there are currently 16 books on the armchair in my room that I need to read. (Damn you Amazon One-Click!)
Tom has been promoting his book all over the internet. I read an excerpt that he posted, and I was hooked. I tore into the book that same night. I finished it the next day. I couldn’t put it down. Honestly, that doesn’t happen to me very often. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I blew off my work for a book. (And the last Harry Potter is included in that handful.) Tom’s book is that good.
I immediately disliked Benjamin, the main character, for his arrogance. But I also immediately liked him because he was honest about his arrogance. From the minute Benjamin woke up early in the morning to catch his flight to Montana, I had to know why. Why did he want to visit a place that was filled with so many unhappy memories for his parents?
I also had a ton of questions about Benjamin’s parents. On one page, they’re getting a divorce. The next page, they’re back together. They go back and forth for years. Why? What keeps them together? Why are they so drawn toward each other?
There are so many twists and turns throughout the book that I had more than a few, “Wait…what?” moments followed by, “Oh!!!” moments. I love those type of books. Tom kept me on my toes with this book and I devoured every single word. When I finished the last chapter, I was silently cursing Tom because I didn’t want it to end. I was hungry for more.
There are two things that I want to say before I finished this review: First, Tom better be working on his next book and second, buy this book. If you want to escape the stress of your daily life, buy this book. You will be immersed in a story that is so powerful yet endearing at the same time. I love this book.
About the Author
Thomas Whaley was born in 1972 and has lived on Long Island his entire life. He has been an elementary school teacher since 1999. Thomas currently lives in Shoreham, New York with his husband Carl and two sons Andrew & Luke.
Leaving Montana is Thomas Whaley’s first novel and the proud winner of the prestigious 2015 ERIC HOFFER Small Press Award, the 2015 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD for Best New Literary Fiction, the 2015 Outstanding First Novel Award from Independent Author Network (IAN) and is also the THIRD PLACE winner of the 2015 IAN Book of the Year Awards!