ARC Early review: Small Hearts by Bryan Dull


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Title: Small Hearts
Author: Bryan W. Dull
Publication: October 2019





Emily Sinclair is a teacher in seclusion, reeling from the loss of several of her third-grade students by the hands of a shooter that opened fire on several classrooms within Marie-Glen Elementary. While dealing with the anxiety of leaving her home and facing the people of the town, Emily is terrified by what is waiting for her outside that takes the shape of shadowy figures resembling her deceased students and the ghostly kids that she refers to as “the whites” that get closer to her with every step she takes. With her sanity in question, Emily seeks help from a psychiatrist, Paul Cusick, as she tells her story of being an educator of children that seemed unteachable to that fateful day in October. However, sometimes what we perceive as reality is skewed




I received this ARC to review, this book is not set to be published until October.
What did I read? I honestly have to ask that question. My rating dropped to a four star as I was getting lost going back and forth between the now and then. Example: So she is talking to someone named Paul and as she is talking she goes back to a memory. Yet, when the memory is done it's like she is in a different place so to speak. Like she wasn't really there talking to someone. I feel like this is really hard to explain correctly. If that makes sense. I have been sitting and trying to figure out how to write that out and that is about as close to what I can say. I was about 79% into the book and I started to ask myself  why is Emily not being helped she is literally asking and begging for help. I mean she is talking to someone but she is skirting around everything, why is this psychologist  not fully helping her. Then I get almost to the end and everything starts to make sense and the tears are falling down my face my hand is over my mouth and I understand. I understood Emily's guilt, it was one that was eating her up and she couldn't move on. This is when my rating went up to a five, because the author built this all up and put that finally piece in place which all made sense.
I loved Emily as a character she spoke her mind you could tell she really loved her children. As I read what she did in her classroom to help all students and not just one or two I was amazed at her. That is the teacher you want for your children. One who doesn't back down and thinks about them.
The way this author took something that is so tragic and wrote it but didn't make it about the shooter was amazing. I know I shouldn't probably use that word but I could agree with why the author wrote this story the way he did. It is not about the person who does something tragic it is about the victims and the families affected by something so heartless.
As an aide in the classroom and having children go to school my biggest fear is this. Can I do what Emily did, would I be in the same mind frame as Emily and be okay when it is all over? This is one that will have you in your feelings but for the sensitivity of this story line reader beware please.





Bryan W. Dull
Currently living in Fort Wayne, IN with his wife (and fellow author Brandy Michelle) and their daughter. Bryan W. Dull goes leaps and bounds to get away from the norm and be his own person; with himself and his writing. Since middle school he has always known what he was good at: entertaining and telling stories. He has been consistently writing and coming up with plots for the last twenty years, but in 2013 he finally decided to share one with the world. His first novel, "Solstice" is a vampire book inspired by his daughter and noir literature. Shortly afterwards, the sequel to Solstice, "Equinox" was released.

After a few short stories published on Amazon independently, Bryan decided that he needed to move away from the horror and work on a story that was more personal, and in that time Pill Hill was written. Arguably his most critical hit thus far, Pill Hill reached out to an untapped audience and focused on mental health issues which is rare for any author to tackle head on.

As of 2018, Dull is in the middle of his next work that he is keeping very secretive at the moment. After work on his next book is complete, he will start writing the end of the Solstice series with a third entry, tentatively called "Celestial", to complete the trilogy.
Born in Anderson, IN, Bryan has also lived in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina (where "Solstice" is based).
Being a lover of all things art and pop culture "nerdism"; his interests lie in film, television, comics, games, anime, and books. For a short while, Bryan dabbled in voice acting work only to shift his focus to his family and writing. His favorite authors include; Chuck Palahniuk, Robert Kirkman, Clive Barker, Ernest Cline, and Neil Gaiman.

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