Title: Which One Are You?
Author: Daniel Hill
Publisher: Lulu
ISBN: 9781257767557
Pages: 70, Paperback
Genre: Religion-Inspirational/Short Stories/Self-Improvement/Fiction
Reviewed by: Beth Adams, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Daniel Hill has assembled terse, short stories into a collection of fiction titled, Which One Are You? His book is an instant drop into a bucket of the dark side of society; filled with gang violence, killings, drug dealers, addicts, dysfunctional families and over all antisocial behavior. What he presented is a reality check, or I’ll call it “cultural shock therapy;” as many of us would not even acknowledge this activity, mayhem, gang activity, senseless killing and unconscionable crime exists, even though our evening news is all too eager to present us with the video clips and sound bites.Daniel Hill exemplifies about two dozen types of people, engaged in various forms of deceit, lies and hurtful actions. He tells first-hand of things known only to killers, and some other stories known only to the victims. He explains the feelings of children’s lost love from the apathy of a mother’s drug addiction along with the father’s disappearance, when grandparents had no control over teens growing up. He talks about the strength and conviction of some “do-gooders,” keeping their faith and having their fortitude in their beliefs to see them through these terrible ordeals. Although this book swept me into the street, and is candidly frank about jail-house living, the purpose of this is not to reward bad behavior, but to shock people to see that faith in God is the common ingredient necessary to provide any form of a solution. To those readers who have a propensity towards this type of behavior, he asks, Which One Are You? To those not caught up in this lifestyle he warns by example to avoid this before it’s too late!
Using a lot of slang, Daniel Hill brings his characters into your face, like an episode of Cops or a reality TV show. Some of the stories seem as if they’re written from behind bars, others seem to have been scribed in blood with tear saturated paper, while still others morn their son or daughter killed in some bizarre martyr justification of street justice; chalking it up to the way the street works. All in all, it’s meant to do something – that is to scare people into living straight. For this reason, the stories have a message of hope and show how faith in God is the path for keeping out of becoming a character in the book.
Daniel Hill invites people to have an open mind when reading his book, and in doing this he invites people to contact him online through email and via his website. You will learn many lessons about family, life, friends, and that we all have choices. It’s a matter of how we decide what direction we want to go in that will shape our lives. I recommend Which One Are You? to anyone that needs a little hope, inspiration, renewal, or just an easy book to read. There are a wide variety of different stories that all contribute to the overall value of the book!
In the words of the author, “So don’t be discouraged that you still have issue because we all do, and once again including myself, but just hold on. Because we all know that we have a Father in heaven who will take care of us at any cost because his word says ‘for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believe in him shall not perish but have ever lasting life.’ John 3:16. But, only if you let him!!! Thank you all for reading my book. I hope you have enjoyed the short stories and that they have blessed or changed your life for the better. Thanks again!”
