This book was heartbreaking in its gritty portrayal of life in small-town America, from the crushing poverty and violence to the surprising resilience of children who have no other world to grow up in. Were it not for some narrative, characterization and pacing issues that gave me mixed feelings, I'd have rated it higher.

Pearl, our fourteen-year-old narrator, is easy to root for; despite the dreariness and squalor of her surroundings, the sketchiness of some of her neighbors, she still manages to adapt and survive. Her mother Margot, however, is a different story and part of the reason I downrated this book - she's always got her head in the clouds, and sometimes says strikingly poetic and beautiful things, but the lyricism gets old fast and her overall inaction when it came to taking care of Pearl angered me. It seems inconsistent that she ran away when Pearl was born to protect her, but then didn't fight hard enough to prevent them from living in a car for fourteen consecutive years, and ended with completely neglecting Pearl as soon as Eli came into her life. If Margot had always been naive and dreamy, I'd have expected an Eli-like fling much earlier in that fourteen-year period. And to keep all those valuables from her old life in a wealthy family, only to give them away practically for free later, while she and Pearl continue to live in that beaten-up car? That was where I drew the line - yes, there's a bit of explanation given for Margot's illogical decision-making (or complete submission to inertia), but despite my sympathy for what she ran away from, I just couldn't stand her head-in-ass mode of living.

Another issue I had was with pacing and clarity. The murder at the end of Part 1 confused rather than shocked me, because I at first had no idea who the murderer was, then had trouble identifying a motive. I'm sure it was meant to illustrate the senselessness of gun violence, but this shooting appeared to be premeditated, yet the perpetrator's character was so thinly drawn that it almost felt like a plot device to propel the story into Part 2. And from there, the story only slows down and gets bloated. Pearl ends up in a semi foster-care situation that doesn't seem realistic, increasingly hyphenates her words, and keeps repeating her mother's favorite (by now insufferable) phrases. She begins to resemble Margot in her passivity and naivete, allowing a weapons smuggler's wife to take her away out of sympathy (how often does this happen in real life!?). Pearl's fake marriage ceremony with Leo also read strangely because they had no real chemistry and were underage. Finally the ending was unclear, and though it tried to include a note of hope, I couldn't be sure that Pearl was actually heading towards anything better in Mexico. I guess I was really hoping she'd strike out on her own instead of being trundled away to an unknown fate, after seeing what her mother's inaction already cost them.

Basically, this was a well-written book overall, and the themes it tries to convey are important, but the story begins to lose coherence and purpose past the halfway point which is unfortunate. ( )

Tackling the subjects of homelessness, poverty and the prevalence of guns in America, Gun Love by Jennifer Clement is a coming-of-age story that features Pearl, a young girl who has never had much security in her life. She and her mother have lived in a car for all of Pearl’s fourteen years. Her mother was a single teenage mother who took her baby and disappeared. They live at the edge of a rundown trailer park in central Florida.

Despite, the difficult way that they live, Pearl and her mother are very close. They have made friends with the residents of the small trailer park but danger is all around them, in the form of guns. Guns, stolen or bought, are brought to the trailer park and are prepared to be run into Mexico. The sound of guns being fired is not a strange sound to Pearl as often hunters come to the river by the trailer park to hunt alligators. But when gun violence reaches into Pearl’s life and makes a drastic change, she needs to find the strength to build herself a new life.

This fairy-tale like story of gun violence and poverty is a quiet tragedy that leaves the reader with questions still unanswered, but with a certain amount of hope. The book is highly stylized, very inventive and has touches of magical realism that made both the story and characters seem slightly unreal. This is the second book by this author that I have read and I have loved both books. I will certainly be watching for more by this author. ( )

I wouldn't call this a YA novel but it is a coming of age story. The story revolves around Pearl and her life before and after a tragic event. I did find the book interesting and well written. It‘s between a pick and a so-so.

Trigger warning: gun violence ( )

If a book is set or inspired by Florida (where I live), chances are, I will read it. Unfortunately for me, books set in Florida are typically odd books about the weird or disenfranchised people living in the isolated swamplands of the state when Florida is much bigger and more diverse than that. If you’ve got recs of books set in Florida that don’t feature alligators, please let me know. And, don’t suggest John Green.

Despite “Gun Love” being about weird, disenfranchised people living in an isolated part of Florida, I still enjoyed it. Gun Love is told from the perspective of a young girl who lives in a car with her mother in the parking lot of a trailer park. The trailer park, it turns out, is a hotbed for gun running. There’s a level of surrealism in the book the requires a suspension of disbelief from the reader. Characters interact strangely and the protagonist is mostly unperturbed by the bizarre and occasionally violent circumstances she finds herself in. It’s a dreamlike book that addresses gun violence in a peripheral, detached way and left me pondering long after I put it down. ( )

Pearl and her mother, Margo, live in a car next to a trailer park in Florida. Their relationship is close until Eli comes around and Pearl must find someplace to be while Eli is in the car with Margot. The other residents of the trailer park (including her friend April May) are also pretty much down on their luck including Rev. Rex who along with Eli is supposedly collecting guns to get off the street, but in actuality is collecting to send to Mexico.

Margot is shot, Pearl is put in foster care where the Mexican lady from the trailer park comes to rescue here.
Disappointed in the book. Thought it would provide a look at the fascinating with guns in our country, but seemed to focus more on Pearl. Not sure what the point was. ( )