“The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley” by Hannah Tinti

Cats have 9 lives, but Samuel Hawley has been blessed with 12! “The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley” by Hannah Tinti is the story of Samuel Hawley, his daughter Loo, and the people who interact with them throughout their lives. It is the tale of a lawless father and his attempts to keep those he loves safe. Sometimes he is successful… sometimes he is not. 

Hawley and Loo move around a lot to random destinations. They only stay somewhere six months to a year.  On Loo’s eleventh birthday, Samuel decides to take Loo someplace where she “won’t have to play alone”. This time, though, they return to Olympus, Massachusetts; her mother’s hometown. Loo’s grandmother still lives there.

We soon find out that Hawley has trouble reigning in his temper. We get a feel for why they may have spent Loo’s life running. 

Samuel always had one gun on him and several more within arm’s length. He taught Loo how to shoot at twelve so it seems normal for her to be around guns. They are her friends. She is comfortable with them; she is not so comfortable with her anger. Mixed with her teenage hormones, she often reacts badly confronted by bullies.

I love the way the author switches from the present and Loo’s perspective to the past. Chapters alternate with “Bullet Number One” and so on to tell Hawley’s past, why he is running, and why he loves and protects his daughter so desperately!

As the book progresses, so does Loo’s life. For the most part, she is a loner. However, she finds love. Her attempts to maintain that relationship are frantic and pitiful. She is as strong a lover as her father. He sets up a sort of altar (in the bathroom) to her dead mother everywhere they call home. The explanation of this towards the end of the book is absolutely heartbreaking. It will rip open a wound in everyone who has lost someone they desperately love with the hope that they will look up and see their loved one turn the corner.

Super read; satisfying ending!

Release/Publication Date:  March 28, 2017

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Coming of Age

Cover: OK.

Source: I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you! 

Rating: 4.5 stars (rounding to 5)