Gun Love by Jennifer Clement

I just finished Gun Love by Jennifer Clement, and it was definitely something new for me. This book fell into my lap just a few days after the Parkland shooting, and I felt obligated to read this story. I, of course, had my opinions, but I wanted to learn more, to see a different side.

Pearl's mother took her away from her family just weeks after she was born, and drove off to central Florida determined to begin a new life for herself and her daughter--in the parking lot next to a trailer park. Pearl grew up in the front seat of their '94 Mercury, while her mother lived in the back. Despite their hardships, mother and daughter both adjusted to life, making friends with the residents of the trailers and creating a deep connection to each other. All around them, Florida is populated with gun owners--those hunting alligators for sport, those who want to protect their families, and those who create a sense of danger.
Gun Love is set in Florida, where Pearl says that hearing gunshots doesn’t even warrant coming out of her home. I wanted to learn about a different kind of life, a different community. Sometimes, we can think that everyone is just like us, and we forget that there are seven billion other people on this planet who all live very differently from each other. This book reminded me of that. This book showed me that I have only seen one way to live, and it is not the only way. The story follows Pearl and her mother, who live in a car in the parking lot of a trailer park. Pearl’s mother grew up rich, but ran away from home when Pearl was born. Their life is difficult to say the least, but they are happy together. Honestly, this book did not have much of a plot of a storyline. It simply showed you a period of time in Pearl’s life. There were fights with friends, drama at church, family trouble, and more. It was a simple story that wasn’t preaching anything. It was just like looking through a window into a different world. And in watching Pearl’s resilience and happiness no matter what the world threw at her, the reader can learn something too. If for nothing else, read this book to look into a different world. “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes, and this book will definitely stretch your mind.
Disclaimer: I received this book from BloggingForBooks.com