Book Review: Junk
Junk
by: Josephine Myles
Blurb: Letting go is the first step to healing…or bringing it all crashing down
When an avalanche of books cuts off access to his living room, university librarian Jasper Richardson can no longer ignore the truth. His ever-growing piles of books, magazines and newspapers can no longer be classified as a “collection”. It’s a hoard, and he needs professional help.
Professional clutter clearer and counselor Lewis Miller thinks he’s seen it all, but even he has to admit he’s shocked. Not so much by the state of Jasper’s house, but by the level of attraction he still feels for the sexy bookworm he remembers from school.
What a shame that Lewis’s ethical code forbids relationships with clients. As Jasper makes slow but steady progress, though, the magnetic pull between them is so strong even Lewis is having trouble convincing himself it’s a temporary emotional attachment arising from the therapeutic process.
Jasper longs to prove to Lewis that this is the real deal. But first he’ll have to lay bare the root of his hoarding problem…and reveal the dark secret hidden behind his walls of books.
Warning: Contains a level-headed counselor with a secret addiction, a bespectacled geek with a sweet tooth, a killer “to-be-read” pile, embarrassing parents, a van called Alice, and deliciously British slang.
Review: Hoarding can become more than a danger to life and limb. It can become common ground for two people to find love. Lewis Miller finds that to be true when he attempts to rescue hoarder Jasper Richardson from his “collection” of books.
Miller and his twin sister are professionals who help people with hoarding obsessions. They’ve witnessed them all from collections of pure junk to dolls and other toys. That is until they saw Jasper’s house. Books filled every square inch from the floor to the ceilings in almost every room. It was so severe Jasper lived without heat since the furnace could not be accessed for repair.
When Carrol found a connection growing between her brother and Jasper, she backed off to let Lewis handle the nervous hoarder. Lewis had a way with people and she felt his “way” would work here. Hoarders, according to Myles, associate with their stuff in ways that most people cannot understand. Thus, when a hoarder feels comfortable with either Lewis or Carrol, the other backs off to let the professional relationship work.
Unfortunately Lewis also had a self proclaimed professional ethic that precluded any personal relationship with clients, especially during counseling. Jasper had no such rules and wanted more than Lewis would or could deliver.
Myles delivered a great story about the problems faced by hoarders, attraction, and love between two men who have a barrier to overcome. She makes us believe in Jasper from the first page through the last. Further, she takes us into the life of a not so typical family that Lewis finds revolting yet Jasper finds welcoming and loving.
Can the conflicts be overcome? Will Jasper and Lewis find a way to allow their relationship grow? Will Jasper be able to overcome his secret, the secret that caused the hoarding in the first place?