Runaways: The Long Journey Home

By: Brenda C. Poulos

Narrated by: Brian Callanan

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

No Mama. An abusive father. A hound dog for a best friend. Jake escapes from the remote Appalachian cabin - the only home he has ever known. And Father hunts him down with the very rifle he used to kill Sam and Mama.

Led by unseen forces. Protected by his dog. Will he find a new life - one filled with acceptance, love, and hope for the future?

©2015 Brenda C. Poulos (P)2016 Brenda C. Poulos

What a twisted web...

Beautifully written and utterly tragic, this story will pull at your heart strings.

The theme of abuse makes this hard to read but awareness of the cycle of abuse where a victim goes on to be an abuser is important to understand and is written well in this book.

There is a spiders web of connections between the main characters in this book and the development of the relationships between them is well written and poignant. The connection between Jake and Hound never failed to make me smile.

Well worth listening to.

The narration did a good job, I wasn't totally sold on the character voices but the delivery was well done with a good pace and natural sounding phrasing.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

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Man's Inhumanity to Man

I was given this book by the author via audiobook boom. This is a story of how a three-year-old boy lived through seven years of horror before being big enough to run away. His Father killed his Mamma and her lover. Then took it out on the little boy. After God sends angels to protect him in the guise of a hound dog and special signs from the sky. Jake is provided with a home filled with love. Circumstances bring him back to his father or almost and in the end the twist that led to him uniting with his grandfather and getting a mother were well written. The story is long and does some twists and turns but worth listening to until the end.

Thrilling

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Mr. Callanan did a super job with the various characters (both male and female). There were some production issues (words chopped off, too loud dialog at times) while this was annoying, it didn't take away from the overall experience. There were a few spots when the character depictions were a bit over the top or the intended expressions were missed. Overall Mr. Callanan did a great job and let the listener lose herself in the story.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Poulos writes a thrilling story. The listener really connects with Jake and Ethan. I found the abrupt changes of scenes (present, past memory recollections, Jake or Ethan) to be distracting and sometimes confusing.

I received this free copy via audiobook boom in exchange for an unbiased review.

From Abuse to Love

Runaways: The Long Journey Home is a beautifully written story about the horrors of child abuse, murder, resilience, forgiveness, understanding, and love. Jake has not felt love from his father, only hate and pain since the age of three when his father killed his mother. Jake had taken many years of abuse and decided to run away, but his "Guardian Angel" in the form of a dog named "Hound" was by his side. I won't give away any spoilers, but let's just say it was a long journey physically, mentally, and spiritually.
This story was so well written that it took me through so many emotions that all I wanted to do was to protect both Jake and Hound by any means necessary. The story has a few twists and turns that as they play put you realize could only be The Creator's hand and guiding young Jake to where he was supposed to be. The author has the ability to give her characters life and make you invested in their lives. There are triggers, and I had to stop a few times to cry, but I came back, and I am so glad I did because it was well worth all the tissues. Brian Callanan voice as the narrator was phenomenal as always because between him and the author, the story took on a life of its own. This book does show the horrible side of life, but it also shows the good loving side, too. I highly recommend this book.
I received this book for free upon my request. I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased review of my own free will. This story is a must-read/listen to.