Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled by Bert Murray★★★☆☆
Age: Adult
Genre: Fiction
It's September 1985 in the bosky precincts of Elerby University (though it conveys the intimacy of a small liberal arts college) in upstate New York. Colin is entering his sophomore year with a lousy love life and a lousy relationship with his father, but he does have a good friend in Karl (a handsome natural athlete who has a way with women) and in the Beatles—"when you love a band so much that its songs fill the empty spaces inside your head and heart." But along comes Jasmine, a serious dish with lips like butter, who really gets inside Colin's head and steals his heart.
The first thing I will point out is that this book is not a young adult book. It's a book about college and includes its fair share of drugs/alcohol, language, and sex and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 18.
Colin Preston is a likeable guy. He's an inexperienced college nice guy who falls in love with a free spirit who is sure to break his heart, but he's also much more than that. Colin was a real person and he could be anyone. His story is one of hope, loss, and hurt.
While part one of this story started out kind of slow for me (as its setting up the book), part two and three made up for it. Betrayal is one word I would use to describe his journey, and Bert Murray does an excellent job portraying this betrayal in words. His writing is emotional yet easy to read, not too deep (which I find to be a good thing).
I enjoyed this debut novel from Murray, it was charming and a pretty accurate detail of college soul searching. Colin's reactions to situations are nothing short of what I expected. Murray didn't hold back in that department. The other characters in his story are another reason I really liked reading it, and one character in particular was Chester, my heart goes out to the guy. I haven't read many books set in the 80's but this one was pretty timeless and really could've happened in any setting.
It's a very relatable story and one told from the guys perspective, which is something I rarely read. It was refreshing and different for me. I am also a huge music fan and the inclusion of so many great singers/songwriters/artists from the time and before was a bonus for me! I am so happy I was given the opportunity by the author to read this book, Thank You!
I'd like to pass this book onto someone who would like to read it. Let me know if you're interested by Email Carole McKenzie
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