Human beings go through different experiences throughout their lives. These experiences shape their perspective of life, making them strong and enhancing their ability to overcome different life struggles. One might forget about many incidents in life just to move on from the past, but it sure does leave its mark on the person. From crying their way through infancy, feeling confused during adolescence, struggling in adulthood, and finally feeling too weak to move when old, human beings go through a lot. Out of all these stages in life, it can be said that the teenage is the most stressful one because teens are on a path of self-discovery, surrounded by a lot of confusion.
Many individuals often do not think this way and believe that only adults suffer the most, invalidating the experiences of others. This flawed ideology disrupts the fact that each individual is suffering in one way or another. Through his prestigious writing, the author Andrew Boyd raises awareness of certain life experiences and struggles of a teen.
The Castle Rock Kingdom
With vivid descriptions and sensory images, he puts together a story of seven young hearts on a path of self-discovery. While the teens, Evan, Jake, Steven, Stacy, Ellie, Justin, and Kev in the Castle Rock Kingdom live separate lives, their fates are conjoined, and they feel the same emotions, preparing them for what’s ahead in life. Together, these 8th graders explore love, drug addiction, and various mental health issues that society often neglects. Released on July 1st in 2021, this self-published novel is available on Good Reads, Amazon, Better World Books, and many other popular websites.
According to Boyd, the moral of the story is to understand that: “Everyone has their own story of hardships, but remember there is always another day to be had. It’s also important not to be too hard on yourself because everyone struggles in this world. With that being said, we are all interconnected in our web of life stories, so how we act affects the morale of the people around us.” Using the power of his words, he evokes hope in the life of these teens who feel clueless, lonely, and depressed. Since they are just young adults, society tries to ignore their depression and struggles, pushing them to be strong and confident. Instead of just pushing the teens to become strong, it’s better to make them feel as if they are being understood. Through his novel, Andrew Boyd opens the eyes of his readers, showing them the reality and brutalities of the world. The author believes that the power of art is really strong and can be inspirational as well. He uses this book to make these young adults from Generation Z feel heard, loved, and respected because they are already going through so many things at the same time. Mr. Boyd also states that he wrote this book because he wanted to connect to the readers to help them explore raw, realistic, and personal stories.
