A review by virginiacjacobs
Coal Run by Tawni O'Dell

4.0

I really enjoy O'Dell's writing. This is a story of a guy (Ivan) who basically made some shitty decisions and was a total ass to a girl when he was a teenager, so he runs away, and then comes back to his hometown several years later, and is still basically a loser. I know--that description really makes you want to read this book. But there are other, more interesting, good characters in this book, and you spend a lot of time really hoping that Ivan gets his shit together and does the right thing. And he does, sometimes. By the end of the book, Ivan seems to be on the path towards being a decent human being. You never really like him, but you also don't dislike him. He's a very believable character, and O'Dell's writing has a truth to it.