Book Review--Westlake Soul

eBook
Release Date: April 10, 2012
Publisher: Chizine Publications
Author: Rio Youers
Thank you to Net Galley and Chizine for providing an Advance Copy for review.

All superheroes get their powers from somewhere. A radioactive spider bite. A science experiment gone awry.  I got mine from a surfing accident in Tofino. The ultimate wipeout. I woke up with the most powerful mind on the planet, but a "body like a wet paper bag..." Meet Westlake Soul, a twenty-three-year-old former surfing champion. A loving son and brother. But if you think he's just a regular dude, think again; Westlake is in a permanent vegetative state. He can't move, has no response to stimuli, and can only communicate with Hub, the faithful family dog. And like all superheroes, Westlake has an archenemy: Dr. Quietus - a nightmarish embodiment of Death itself. Westlake dreams of a normal life - of surfing and loving again. But time is running out; Dr. Quietus is getting closer, and stronger. Can Westlake use his superbrain to recover... to slip his enemy's cold embrace before it's too late?

Sometimes--it happens very rarely--but sometimes you are privileged enough to read a book that touches your soul.

A book that makes you feel blessed to have experienced it. A book that makes you look at life in a completely different way.

Westlake Soul is one of these books.

Westlake Soul is the story of a man--named Westlake Soul--trapped in his own mind.

After a surfing accident, Westlake's brain suffers too much trauma. He goes into a permanant vegetative state.
Unknown to his loved ones, Westlake is very aware of his surroundings--and he's developed a superpower.
He can leave his body and go anywhere. Anywhere in the universe. The moon? He's been there. The ocean floor? He's seen it.
But the one thing Westlake desperately wants to do is the one thing that alludes him. He wants to show his family that he is still here.

Rio Youers has a way with words that awed me.
The battles Westlake has with his nemesis, Dr. Quietus, are epic and wonderful.
The writing in these scenes is especially brilliant.

This book also has some very emotional scenes and, because of the fabulous writing, you'll feel like you're right there with Westlake--and you WILL need tissues. Possibly a whole box of them.

And the end? Wow. Just...wow.

I truly hope that the publishers of Westlake Soul do everything they can to get the word out about this amazing book.
This is something that NEEDS to be read by as many people as possible.

Thank you, Rio, for writing such a touching, awesome, heartbreaking story.

In closing--READ WESTLAKE SOUL!