Annie by Ron Mahaffey – a Review

Links to order Annie: Amazon/ Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Description:
Cody Miller’s lifelong desire to serve and protect the country he loves is a reality now, thanks to the Vietnam War. He has served honorably and well, and he’s about to be sent back to the States…along with the woman he loves. But just as his dreams are about to come true, a tragedy strikes, giving him the opportunity to protect an angel of mercy…but at great cost to himself. Cody wakes up in a veterans’ hospital believing that he has nothing left to live for. With a cold and angry heart, his only wish is to ride into the Colorado wilderness, never to be seen again. But Cody doesn’t know that destiny is following him in a way he doesn’t expect. Will it reach him in time? Annie is a deftly plotted, richly characterized novel that illuminates the physical and emotional realities of war with vividness and compassion to create a deeply satisfying story.

Review:

I have struggled with this review.  Probably more than any I’ve ever written.  The story is a sweet one and realistic in the portrayals of the hells of war and the chaos that ensues.  It’s a short, fast read.  I read the blurb and saw how short the book was and was prepared to not like it…….at all.  Well, that thought went to hell in a hand basket.  Even though the story is short, coming in at 144 pages, it covered all of the bases.  The descriptive dialogue of the jungles of Vietnam, to the thoughts that go through Cody’s mind as he struggles to come to terms with what has happened, are very well written.  As I read the book, it was as if I could hear Cody telling me his story.  The story is slow paced, which usually kills a book for me, but for some reason, this one worked.  And it worked well.  I do wish that it had been a little longer so that we could find out the back story for some of the supporting characters though.  As I said before, this is a sweet love story with a teary moment or two, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.