The Boots My Mother Gave Me

By: Brooklyn James

Narrated by: Brooklyn James

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD QUARTER FINALIST

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk through life in someone else's shoes?

Strong-willed tomboy Harley LeBeau puts you in the boots her mother gave her, as she takes you along her journey of escape from an abusive childhood and the desire to find herself as she comes of age. Made to feel a burden to her father simply by her gender, Harley is determined to prove her worth and independence, leaving the small town she grew up in and the one boy who gave her a soft place to fall, Jeremiah Johnson.

Torn between saving herself and abandoning her mother and younger sister, Harley chooses her own life in hopes they will choose theirs, too. A mature, candid read for everyone. A must for women. The Boots My Mother Gave Me explores the dynamics of abuse and dysfunction, the courage to overcome, the strength in sisterhood, and the ongoing conflict and unconditional love between mothers and daughters.

Climb into Charlene the Chevelle for a fast-paced story about a girl who is tough enough to survive and tender enough to learn to trust in love.

©2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Brooklyn James (P)2014 Brooklyn James

Really good!

This was a giveaway from the author in exchange for an honest review. I'm not really good at leaving reviews.
The story kept me entertained and angry at the same time. Characters in the story are a mix of likable and unlikable ones which makes it a good balance.

Awesome from beginning to end

I really enjoy this book. It's intense. The author brings the story to life and her reading is very easy to listen to.

Outstanding read!

Brooklyn James does an excellent job bringing the characters to life and having them find a place in your heart.

This is a go to read for me every summer and over the holidays. Love Harley and KitKat!!

Amazing!!!

Loved every bit!!! Narration!! And writing!!! Loved the twist of music in the mix!!
I haven't heard or read a book this good in awhile. Very pleased. Sorry to see it end.

Loved this book!!!

Where does The Boots My Mother Gave Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

first

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Boots My Mother Gave Me?

songs

Any additional comments?

This book tells the almost always painful and sometimes happy life journey of a woman named Harley LeBeau. She came from a dysfunctional family which mainly caused by her alcoholic father. She wanted to escape this life sooo bad she went away (after high school graduation) to find happiness and peace of mind she never got at home.

Oh... this is my first audio book that I truly enjoyed, I love the author's voice! Wish she could narrate all my favorite books, surely, I'd buy them all ;) This has a soundtrack which I think is cool, unique for an audio book. It was soooo nice to hear someone singing songs while "reading" but sometimes it could be distracting. Not that bad, just a little bit weird. The story telling and dialogue felt authentic. You know that feeling you get carried away with it...found myself talking to Harley like a friend... like she was just on the phone LOL

One character I soooo want to be my latest *wink* book boyfriend is Jeremiah Johnson, a.k.a. Miah/Big Johnson. He's Harley's best friend, her first friend, first kiss, the first in everything. Even after miles away, years not seeing each other, they still maintain that best friend, not so romantic relationship. I got so many issues with Harley about Miah, if she's my friend in a real world, I think she'd be in a hospital now. I like Harley, a lot, but when it comes to Miah, ohhh I hate her. *long sigh*

As you can see below, I've just labelled the book my "all-time-favorite", means this is highly recommended! Try this one, you won't be disappointed.

Hoped for a better connection with the story

This book fits nicely in the New Adult genre; with a little less angst and more real life issues addressed than what is typically expected. It’s a coming of age story focused on Harley from age 17 on through the next decade. Harley is a free spirit who longs to get away from her small town and her alcoholic, abusive father. Although she tries to make her way in the world by traveling and trying various career paths, her family-father, sister and mother –are strong anchors to her previous life and keep her coming back home in moments of crisis. For as much as Harley wants to create a life of her own, she is, above all, their caretaker when things get rough.

At the heart of the novel is her relationship with Jeremiah (Miah) who she has known since she was a child and whose friendship becomes something more. My main contention with this novel was how Harley handles this relationship as well as the others in her life. The author shines a light on certain people and then “drops them” and moves onto another situation without a resolution. I understand this is part of Harley’s personality but it made for a frustrating read. There are many times that we are privy to important information (when Harley’s sister, Kat, calls her home because she needs her help) then it’s years later before we find out any more information about that very significant incident. Could Harley be that removed from her sister after she sees her that there’s no real involvement with her for two years after that? I have a hard time believing that she could be so absorbed in figuring out what to do with herself that she hardly gives a thought to the other people in her life. Miah, her best friend, is dropped from her life for years –only thinking about him a handful of times (if that). I felt a very deep contradiction between Harley’s words of wisdom and her actual investment into the lives of the people who are important to her. I grew tired of her "common sense” talks to herself with no actual follow through.

This is the first time that I have listened to an audiobook where the author is also the narrator. I will say that Brooklyn James has a perfect voice for the character of Harley. She fully captured both her youth and vivaciousness. Although she read smoothly with a good, clear pace, I didn’t notice much, if any differentiation between voices. While there wasn’t an extensive cast of characters, it’s essential for an audiobook to have some (even if it’s subtle) differences in voices.

This audiobook did have several unique qualities to it. There was a distinct tone to indicate when Harley was experiencing a memory/flashback and again at the end of it. While this was a nice distinction I think that it could have been even briefer. I felt it was odd that so much time was given to signal when this was occurring, yet many of the chapters started with barely a pause between them. Another new listening feature was having Harley’s songs imbedded within the story. This was actually fun; most were very short and really let you feel the moment as it unfolded.

This story clearly has a good message-finding the strength to make yourself happy and empowering others to make a better life for themselves. While I felt the story lacked real emotional depth and I failed to really connect with it the way I hoped to, I did think Miah was wonderful and was amazed at his love and patience for Harley. All my favorite moments in the book included him and I appreciated the happy ending for both of them-but even more so for Jeremiah.

***A copy of this audiobook was given to me in exchange for an honest review***

Highly Recommend

What made the experience of listening to The Boots My Mother Gave Me the most enjoyable?

In the audio version the songs included throughout the story were great I hope to see more audio books like this.

Any additional comments?

The characters were well written, they had multiple sides to them, none of the characters were all good or bad. The flash backs where simple and strait forward.

What a great experience!

What did you love best about The Boots My Mother Gave Me?

Listening to The Boots My Mother Gave Me was quite a unique and fascinatingly enjoyable experience. There were tones used to signal the beginning and ending of memory sequences. Ms. James also incorporated songs written and performed by her into the telling of the story. Those songs added to the telling of the story instead of being a distraction.

What did you like best about this story?

It was an amazing story dealing with many subjects prevalent in today's society, including alcoholism, physical and verbal abuse, PTSD, suicide and single partenthood. However, the basic theme of family and love wasn't overshadowed.

What about Brooklyn James’s performance did you like?

I loved Brooklyn James's voice to start with. I never had any problem knowing which character was talking and the volume was consistent. The unique songs were well done and played in integral part in the story.

If you could take any character from The Boots My Mother Gave Me out to dinner, who would it be and why?

If I could take any character out to dinner, it would have to be the main character, Harley. She went through so much and experienced so many different things in her life that it would just be interesting to sit down and talk to her...and maybe tell her to let the sexy, always there for her, Jeremiah into her heart officially.

Any additional comments?

I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest review. I think it is the first 5 star review of an audio book that I have given. Brooklyn James did it all. She wrote the story, the songs, she narrated and she wrote and sang the songs used. It was awesome! The story had me very involved with the characters and I found myself looking for other chores to do that would enable me to listen longer. Great job!!!

Amazing.

I listened to the audio book of The Boots My Mother Gave Me. I was addicted from the start.
Usually I would not advise an author to narrate their own audio books but as a singer and a professional in this business, Brooklyn could not have done better. This is an amazing story about a father and his daughter and the dysfunctional part of having a father that is an alcoholic and who was so tortured himself that he does not know how to relate to the people in his life.
It is a story of trust. It is a story of betrayal and a story of love. Although it has some romance to it the story is not about romance but about how failed relationships shape expectations for future relationships.
The audio book is a first for me in as far as it has a musical soundtrack to accompany it. These songs/tracts are sung by the author herself and it may not be for all but my one biggest complaint against the incorporation of these songs into the productions was this ---THEY WERE MOSTLY ONLY SNIPPETS -- leaving me wanting more. Craving more and it worked wonders to show the main characters naive notions on the one hand against her world weary well earned mistrust on the other. This was totally brilliant. The second and more important facet of this audio book was that the author wrote a true story in fictional context and her voice became Harley's giving the book a feeling of intimacy second to none. I stand in awe.
Now the main character in this book is Harley LeBeau. Her direct family and the boy next door Miah. All in all these 5 people are pivotal to the story but towards the theme of the story lies this basic truth. Parents teach their children via behaviour and the fact that Harley's mother coped with the abuse, the fact that her father is hot and cold in his affection. Physically and mentally abusive. Cognitively absent from the rearing of his children and the running of his household, all of these were crystal clear and achingly truthful in its telling of the story.
All in all, this is a story I will recommend to all. A story that you should, possibly must read...

WaAr

I loved Harley

What made the experience of listening to The Boots My Mother Gave Me the most enjoyable?

I really liked the main character, Harley LeBeau. She has determination and courage and despite an abusive father and dysfunctional family like, she knew what she wanted and went after it. She is proof that no one has to let a difficult childhood and dysfunctional family be the excuse not to live life to the fullest.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harley LeBeau, of course. If I could go back and relive my 20s, I would like to leave home and live for myself like Harley did.

Which scene was your favorite?

Well, (blush) Harley's first sexual experience. It was sweet, tender and sensual and transported me back in time.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when Harley graduated high school and was leaving town, her father gave her a guitar.

Any additional comments?

No matter what the situation, Harley chose herself and her life. I think her story can be an inspiration to any woman, especially those who have suffered the same kind of abusive family situation.