GoodHouse product reviews

The cover of this book stopped me from reading this for several weeks whilst I persevered with another novel. They were weeks I instantly regretted as soon as I read the first paragraph. Related in the first person this book, set in futuristic America, tells the story of James who has been placed in a Goodhouse juvenile correctional facility since the age of three after genetic testing showed he had "criminal" genes.

James' story, set in the present time, interweaves with flashbacks to his previous residential facility La Pine, which burnt down after an attack from The Zeros who don't believe in rehabilitation or prevention and aim to destroy all those with the defective genes in the residential facilities.

I really enjoyed this book and it is gripping on many levels. I liked the way the story unfolded and the interweaving of James past and the development of his relationships as he struggles to understand what Goodhouse really represents and the role that those he meets within truly play. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book as to whether or not he should trust Bethany and if their relationship was doomed from the start.

Often stories set in the future have an air of suspension of belief about them but Goodhouse is based on so many truths from our present and past that it is believable that much of what James experiences could truly happen. The horrors that many youths have experienced in Juvenile (and indeed adult) correctional facilities is explored as the ordered but violent world in which James lives rather rapidly falls apart to reveal the true purpose of Goodhouse.

I would recommend ignoring the gruesome cover and open the first page for a very enjoyable and gripping story from a first time author who writes with almost an air of Wally Lamb. A great read and one I wish I had had weeks earlier than I did.