Little Toy Car by Gabe Oliver is a heartfelt story based on the life of Gene, from an innocent child to a young adult. Growing up in a house filled with charity donations that were always not quite perfect, with a mother with scrambled self-confidence and an abusive alcoholic stepfather, Gene’s idea of love cannot help but be severely warped. For readers who enjoy exploring the growth of characters as they experience the torment of painful relationships and conflict into mature and beautifully deep personalities – Gene will steal your hearts from under you.

The use of symbolism in this novel is outstanding. The stolen toy car, the bible verses, the guitar, the frying pan, and the car crash; are articulated in such a way that you could feel the rollercoaster of Gene’s life from a fragile child who saw no hope in the world and love only in the form of violence, to a reflective, considerate adult. It contains heavy themes, including religious coercion, physical and sexual violence, child abuse, and other criminal activity, that would be better understood and appreciated by readers who can decipher the teachings contained in Oliver’s work.

From its opening pages, Oliver’s writing style draws you into the plot – immediately greeted by the story behind the novel’s title and the purest insight into our main character, who is seemingly always a not-quite-right in his fit in the world. Parts of Gene’s childhood were weaved into the plotline perfectly to convey a certain message. There is a certain element of a psychological lesson to be learned about how children perceive interactions – especially where there is a lack of positive parenting or familial relationships – and how this manifests continuously in the form of life decisions and behavioral patterns.

Little Toy Car by Gabe Oliver is a gripping book that I would highly recommend to mature audiences. Readers will enjoy this coming-of-age story as they follow Gene as he navigates a challenging childhood to the heartwarming ending of this novel.

Pages: 379 | ASIN : B0BG3FKQC4

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/01/31/little-toy-car/