Book Review Alert: Final Harvest by Barbara Howard

Book Review Alert: Final Harvest Author: Barbara Howard Published: August 1, 2020 Publisher: Independently published ISBN-13: 979-8655968134 Rating: 3

Tracinda Simmons, better known as Traci, is a twenty-five year old young woman who lives alone. Growing up, she lived an unstable life. She had been passed from foster to foster home until she aged out of the system. Living alone as an adult has not been stable either as evidenced by living a in a fixer upper home that she can’t afford to fix up to city code, obtaining dead-end jobs through a temp-service and trying to cope day to day with anxiety issues. With the assistance from the temp-service she works for, a job that she normally would not have entertained, became available to her at at time when she had no choice but to accept. She became a bike courier. Overtime, she learned to appreciate the job and became a valued employee. In her neighborhood, she meets Rowena Garrett and her workers in a huge field where they are working. While Rowena seems to be a little rough around the edges, she provides hospitality by feeding and providing shelter to the workers who otherwise, would have no place to go. After the mysterious death of Rowena Garrett, Traci focuses on what really happened to Rowena. This comes about after her conversation with Milo, a young boy who depended on Rowena before her untimely death. He expresses to Traci that Rowena may have been murdered. The officer investigating the crime, Officer Wells, listens to Traci’s theory, but warned her to stay out of the way of police business. However, her also takes a liking to Traci. The curiosity behind Rowena’s death overwhelms Traci. Will she leave well enough alone or will she find herself in a web that she is unable to untangle?

This book was a great read and it earned an overall rating of eight. I felt this book deserved a rating of eight because I liked the advocacy of the main character, Traci. I liked how she found for others in her community. She saw the importance in something much bigger than herself regarding her community. I loved how the author incorporated anxiety issues with the main character in this story and showed that she was able to utilize coping strategies during her time of need. This proves the stigma of mental illness to be false. Individuals with anxiety issues can live independently with proper supports and resources. I particularly loved how the character came into her own and was able to make positive decisions for her life.