This review was first posted on Music, Books and TeaWhisky Charlie Foxtrot drew me in right from the very beginning. I read this book in two sittings and loved every second of it. Family feuds are a topic that I’m very familiar with, unfortunately, and this book really hit home with me. Annabel Smith managed to tackle this subject realistically and emotionally, creating characters that I both loved and disliked all at the same time.I spent the first half of this book feeling very sorry for Charlie. He’s having to deal with the possibility of never talking to his brother ever again, but not by his own choice. Whisky and Charlie had been at loggerheads for some time, refusing to speak to each other, and Charlie is now having to face a reality where his brother may never speak again, let alone to Charlie. We also learn of Charlie’s past, and how Whisky was always the better twin, the one who was more liked, more popular and just generally better at everything. I really felt for Charlie, especially with the golf scenario. Whenever Charlie was good at something, it seemed like Whisky had to get in on the act and take over. Being an outsider, it’s easy to see that Whisky was jealous of Charlie, but in Charlie’s shoes, it’s easy to see that jealousy as a simple desire to be the better brother.We only get a one-sided view of Whisky, and as the book continued, I was pretty sure Whisky wasn’t as bad as Charlie was making out. In fact, further into Whisky Charlie Foxtrot, Charlie started acting like a complete and utter idiot, and I was starting to get frustrated with both the brothers! I feel like Rosa was a huge turning point for Whisky, she made him into a much likeable character, and I found her to be really amusing. I think a huge part of what stopped me from feeling so sorry for Charlie was when I found out he had rejected Rosa and Whiskey’s request. I can’t say much more because it’s a huge spoiler, but I really couldn’t believe he’d deny them that single request. And I really wanted to slap Charlie upside the head, when it came to his relationship with Juliet. I wanted him to just realise that marriage wouldn’t change his relationship with her, and that she would still love him just as much as she always had.The two-way alphabet plays a hugely prominent part of the book, with each chapter starting with the word of the alphabet. (So chapter one was alpha, two bravo, etc.). The chapter names also played a large part of the plot, and it was nice to see how each word would reflect in the chapter. This could have come across very forced and false, but Smith worked the words into the story in such a way that they just slotted into place seamlessly. The last chapter, Zulu, nearly had me bawling my eyes out, especially with the recital of the two way alphabet. The progress that all the characters had made was incredible, and the final chapter really showed that. I’ve barely even mentioned all the things that I loved about Whisky Charlie Foxtrot. Every time I re-read this review I keep thinking of something else that I want to add, and if I added absolutely everything, this review would practically be its own novel. This book could have become one huge cliché, what with the warring brothers, the coma, and the conflict Charlie goes through, but it isn’t. Annabel Smith managed to write and shape this book into my favourite adult contemporary read of the year.
Music, Books and Tea
This review was first posted on Music, Books and TeaWhisky Charlie Foxtrot drew me in right from the very beginning. I read this book in two sittings and loved every second of it. Family feuds are a topic that I’m very familiar with, unfortunately, and this book really hit home with me. Annabel Smith managed to tackle this subject realistically and emotionally, creating characters that I both loved and disliked all at the same time.I spent the first half of this book feeling very sorry for Charlie. He’s having to deal with the possibility of never talking to his brother ever again, but not by his own choice. Whisky and Charlie had been at loggerheads for some time, refusing to speak to each other, and Charlie is now having to face a reality where his brother may never speak again, let alone to Charlie. We also learn of Charlie’s past, and how Whisky was always the better twin, the one who was more liked, more popular and just generally better at everything. I really felt for Charlie, especially with the golf scenario. Whenever Charlie was good at something, it seemed like Whisky had to get in on the act and take over. Being an outsider, it’s easy to see that Whisky was jealous of Charlie, but in Charlie’s shoes, it’s easy to see that jealousy as a simple desire to be the better brother.We only get a one-sided view of Whisky, and as the book continued, I was pretty sure Whisky wasn’t as bad as Charlie was making out. In fact, further into Whisky Charlie Foxtrot, Charlie started acting like a complete and utter idiot, and I was starting to get frustrated with both the brothers! I feel like Rosa was a huge turning point for Whisky, she made him into a much likeable character, and I found her to be really amusing. I think a huge part of what stopped me from feeling so sorry for Charlie was when I found out he had rejected Rosa and Whiskey’s request. I can’t say much more because it’s a huge spoiler, but I really couldn’t believe he’d deny them that single request. And I really wanted to slap Charlie upside the head, when it came to his relationship with Juliet. I wanted him to just realise that marriage wouldn’t change his relationship with her, and that she would still love him just as much as she always had.The two-way alphabet plays a hugely prominent part of the book, with each chapter starting with the word of the alphabet. (So chapter one was alpha, two bravo, etc.). The chapter names also played a large part of the plot, and it was nice to see how each word would reflect in the chapter. This could have come across very forced and false, but Smith worked the words into the story in such a way that they just slotted into place seamlessly. The last chapter, Zulu, nearly had me bawling my eyes out, especially with the recital of the two way alphabet. The progress that all the characters had made was incredible, and the final chapter really showed that. I’ve barely even mentioned all the things that I loved about Whisky Charlie Foxtrot. Every time I re-read this review I keep thinking of something else that I want to add, and if I added absolutely everything, this review would practically be its own novel. This book could have become one huge cliché, what with the warring brothers, the coma, and the conflict Charlie goes through, but it isn’t. Annabel Smith managed to write and shape this book into my favourite adult contemporary read of the year.
