The Five Pearls

by Barry James Hickey

No child left behind in today's American education system? There are five this time. Hickey has created a truly memorable story with distinct characters carved from everyday life where everyone has a secret. With the help of a retired nurse, a dying man with a new identity, a terrible past and a hidden agenda changes the hearts, minds, and character of The Tadpoles; five angry, stubborn students forced into an after-school program.

238 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2009

About the author

Barry Hickey, in full Barry James John Hickey, (born April 02, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), is a charismatic American author of novels about ordinary people experiencing life-changing events. He writes in all genres of fiction, often influenced by his own extraordinary adventures and infinite imagination.
Hickey grew up on the Southside of Chicago in a large, struggling family, working full-time while attending four colleges. He studied Cultural Anthropology, English, Journalism and Theater, eventually earning a B.A. degree in Diversified Studies from the University of Colorado. Hickey later enjoyed a modestly successful career in Hollywood as an actor, writer and producer in independent films interspersed with stints working for motion picture studio executives. His close friends call him "Hollywood".
Regarding his books: The Five Pearls, originated from his three years as a high school teacher working to empower dysfunctional American youth.
Chasing God's River explores a man trying to reclaim his masculinity as he is confronted by his past.
In The Glass Fence, Hickey writes of an emotionally empty woman kindling new friendships with female outcasts from her daily life by starting a rowing team.
Waking Purgatory, explores the dynamics of a young widow hoping to raise her savant twins in a small town with a terrible secret.
The Water Lawyer, (co-written with Kevin Donovan), portrays a modern American Indian hero in a legal thriller influenced by corporate American greed.
The Pendragon Prophecy creates an iconic modern hero from an everyday American farmer thrust into a secret world of wizards, knights and magic.
Hickey's 2019 release, The Mermaid Latitudes, (print, Kindle and audio versions) Hickey explores personal destiny, pitching a meek museum curator, his mischievous bodyguard and a stoic woman against pirates, sea gypsies, and men gone mad.
In Finding Paul Bunyan Hickey confronts an America with lost values, resurrecting Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox Babe into a modern world where they are no longer needed or wanted.
A cancer survivor, Hickey also writes screenplays and original music.

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the basic story of this book. What I didn't like was how rushed it all seemed and how unrealistic events were because of how quick the story went. Five kids that refuse to do anything school related magically start wanting to go to school after 5 minutes with Mr. Battle? I would have liked the story more if there was more resistance in the kids making it more realistic. A lot of the conversations didn't work for me either. They were too perfect and came across as, yet again, unrealistic. Again, I liked the overall story, but it just was rushed making it too unrealistic for me to really get into.

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway (forever ago!! sorry it took me so long to read it and review it!)

[Spirita]

Excellent!