'Don't' - Charlie Mann

                                                                               

                                                                              

What happens when you fall in love twice, at the same time, with twin sisters? "Don't" takes the old love triangle plot in new directions with love, loss, success, failure and plenty of mischief along the way. There is more than meets the eye with the Brogan twins and one lucky young man got to know them better than anyone else. This is his story.

                                                                                   

About the author

I am a 42 year old quality engineer with degrees in math and science and interest in all subjects. I am married with two bipedal children and two four legged ones. Born and raised in Virginia, I now live in North Carolina, but spend quite a bit of time in the Northeast. Literary influences include John Irving, who showed me flawed characters are the easiest to sympathize with; Christopher Moore, whose tone and irreverence mirrors my take on life and Stephen King, who has provided more useful insights into the craft than anyone. I also idolize James Michener, Ken Follett and Robert Heinlein for creating epic and unforgettable stories that I never wanted to end.

For background on Don't, I had written several short stories and some poetry, but failed on my first two attempts at a novel. After meeting up with a couple of old friends from high school and sharing my work with them, they insisted that I had to try again. So, I took three ideas I had been toying with and began alternating between them until one felt like it was moving more than the others. Once that occurred, I refused to stop, regardless of how I thought it would turn out. It took the better part of a year, but I got the first draft done and then spent the next few months editing and passing around copies to friends for feedback. Not knowing where to go next, I decided to self publish, doing my own cover art (based on a picture taken of a rail bridge over the Delaware River near Phillipsburg, New Jersey during the Halloween storm of 2011) and setting up book signings at a couple of independent bookstores. The author photo in the back was taken by my son on the Bill Burton Fishing Pier over the Choptank River (in honor of James Michener's Chesapeake).

I am currently struggling with my second novel, tentatively titled Timeless, which is a romance involving a reverse chronology (think Time Traveler's Wife and Benjamin Buttons). 

TI have a blog where I post about science, religion, cooking, writing and anything else I feel like rambling on about (Life Without Commas)

My Review

This sensitively written book is unusual in that it’s told through the eyes of a teenage boy who loves twin sisters at the same time. The relationship between the three is exquisite as they realize that they can’t live without each other nor can he make up his mind which sister he truly loves. This totally captured the essence of a young boy growing up. It became less appealing however as he aged and at times I just wanted to tell him to either choose one of them or move on. There are many twists and turns and I especially liked the ending. It is a very moving story but the middle part didn’t really engage me. I found it interesting that the book deals with emotions and relationships yet seen through a male point of view. It was certainly different!

3.5/5