Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury Audio Book of the Week

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury Audio book

Read by Roxanne Hernandez

From Publisher:
Holden Harris is an 18-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal - on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different.

Ella Reynolds is part of the 'in' crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high-school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him... the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery - she and Holden were best friends as children. Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school, including her boyfriend, Jake.

Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden's praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.


My Take:  I usually love anything by Karen Kingsbury.  According to my Goodreads Author Stats she is the number one author that I read.  For some reason this book didn't grab my attention like most of her others.  I was highly distracted by the reader's attempt at a southern accent.  Not sure that she really got it right and it was just plain distracting. 

The story is one that did finally got me into it after about half way through.  I felt for Holden as he was bullied and for the others that were bullied also.  I thought that the kids that were doing the bulliying should have been confronted especiallay after a tragedy occurred.  I was glad that Ella took the time with Holden and they rediscovered the friendship that they had.  

This was a good book but it does take awhile to draw you in. 



I listened to this from my personal library from  Audible.com.