REVIEW: A Life in Frames by Lillian McKinnon

This book was an amazing read, and I was blessed by the gods to be able to read it! 🙂 In fact, when I was reading it, I kept forgetting that the author was close in age to the main character, Laura Thomas. Miss McKinnon’s grasp of the English language is well beyond her years, and her acute attention to all the right details, combined to whisk me back to the trials and bittersweet joys of my own youth.
The story is told through the eyes of one fourteen-year-old Laura Thomas. Through her, we meet her older brother Aeric, her best friends Amy and later Kayleigh, and her parents. Laura is carefree and loves to take photographs, especially in Liverpool. Her best friend since she was five is Amy, and they’ve literally grown up together… and now that they are fourteen and sixteen, BOYS have come into the picture and all Amy can seem to think about are boys, boys, BOYS! Laura doesn’t really want to be left out, but her focus (when it comes to the male form) seems to be on the svelte form of one Daniel Craig! In fact, her brother Aeric would agree with her… well, until it comes to taking the train to Liverpool to get coffee from a certain coffee shop!

I have always loved books that don’t have a set beginning, middle and end, but rather a continuance of perspective. I don’t want a ‘Dear Diary’ style of book, but I love it when it seemsalmost stream of consciousness, and this book gave me EVERYTHING I wanted. Miss McKinnon’s writing was engaging, and in my opinion, it was the picture of perfection for a coming of age story. It had just the right amount of funny, just the right amount of message, and the right amount of lead in to what love is and can be. FRAMES explored the entire spectrum of what friendship is to a teenager, how delicate its strong web is, yet how easily they can be broken and just what it can take to fix it. Laura always seeks to do well, to be a good friend, a good sister to Aeric, and a good person. She’s someone I could aspire to be, were I a teenager in today’s world.

As of this writing, A LIFE IN FRAMES has not been published, so I will list a few quotes from the book as not to accidentally give spoilers:

“That’s where they make boyfriend cars.”– Aeric

“Aeric, I don’t why you’ve crawled into the hall closet and locked the door behind you, but you need to open the door and get on out of there. Though you could be so kind to tell me if the vacuum attachment for the drapes is in there with you.”– Mum

“Stop! I don’t wanna make myself pee!”– Kayleigh

“At this rate, my imaginary Fist Deli was going to have to issue loyalty cards. Get so many mental punches and get a bonus kick in the arse.”– Laura

And there are so many more! Suffice it to say that once this book hits the press, this reader will be buying a copy! Since it is listed as Frames #1, I know that I am in for many years filled with the Thomas children and their beautiful families!

You can find it on Goodreads here: A Life in Frames

Author: M. LeAnne Phoenix

M. LeAnne Phoenix would tell you that the worst time of her life was the two years that she attempted to take off from writing. If you asked her to explain exactly why she did such a thing, you would most likely get the mad attempt to arch an eyebrow like her dad and then a shake of the head as she told you it was unlucky to speak of such things. Suffice it to say, it will never happen again! Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas in the mid-1970's, Ms. Phoenix was young and wild (and even free!) during the crazy wondrous decade known as the 1980's and the even crazier but now grungy decade of the 1990's. Music is second only to the muses that live and breathe to fill her mind with beautiful men, and music always helps them to tell their stories. She is never without her iPod or her computer no matter where she goes, although, she does like to hike and take pictures of the sky and the moon, and even the occasional shot of the sun through the branches of a tree. An avid cat lover, Ms. Phoenix has been owned by many throughout her life, though her current owner is one Gypsy Jo, who really would like for her to step away from the keyboard and pay her some attention! After all, hasn't she earned it? M. LeAnne Phoenix can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mleannephoenix. As this is her first real foray into the professional world of writing, there will be more social media to come. View all posts by M. LeAnne Phoenix