Better Must Come

De: Desmond Hall

Narrado por: Jaime Lincoln Smith

Barely Missing Everything meets American Street in this “well-plotted, taut page-turner” (Booklist, starred review) that looks at the darker side of light-filled Jamaica and how a tragedy and missing drug money helplessly entangle the lives of two teens who want to change their fate.

Deja is a “barrel girl”—one of the Jamaican kids who get barrels full of clothes, food, and treats shipped to them from parents who have moved to the US or Canada to make more money. Gabriel is caught up in a gang and desperate for a way out. When he meets Deja at a party, he starts looking for a way into her life and wonders if they could be a part of each other’s futures.

Then, one day while out fishing, Deja spies a go-fast boat stalled out by some rocks, smeared with blood. Inside, a badly wounded man thrusts a knapsack at her, begging her to deliver it to his original destination, and to not say a word. She binds his wounds, determined to send for help and make good on her promise…not realizing that the bag is stuffed with $500,000 American. Not realizing that the posse Gabriel is in will stop at nothing to get their hands on this bag—or that Gabriel’s and her lives will intersect in ways neither ever imagined, as they both are forced to make split-second choices to keep the ones they love most alive.

Des does it again

Such a great storyteller. The intensity keeps building and building to an unexpected ending. I really couldn’t put it down, so many to root for. It’s rare to find a male author that can capture the power and emotional depth of female characters. There is a music to the writing that flows like a good dancehall rhythm. This is a man who’s lived Jamaica and is unwilling to gloss over the struggle and complexity of that nation. Can’t wait for the novels yet to come. Respect!

A story of courage

Many do not know the struggles it takes to be able to survive and this girl demonstrated that throughout the whole story.

I thoroughly enjoyed it

The author used his words to paint a picture of life in Jamacia that all Caribbean people can relate to. I learned alot about perception and saw both sides of having a migrant parent.

Loved it, binged it - and yes better must come!

This story swept me away. I binged it in one day on a long haul flight. I will try not to give too many spoilers but it was moving on so many levels. Youthful love, plot, psychology of abandonment and social criticism all weaved together in a sort of new kind of odyssey where a barrel girl, Deja, and an orphan, Gabriel, teenagers left behind to grow up quick in Jamaica, takes destiny into their own hands on mad dash through tough choices and many curveballs. A rough reality is portrayed but yet one feels the love for Jamaican culture language and people throughout - the hope clearly is that better must come not just for our main characters but for Jamaica. I also really like the reading performance- almost in all parts - beautiful paced and engaging- though I would have like a few of the Deja parts read slightly less pitched. But still wonderful.