"You can't avoid every mistake. The trick is to just avoid the ones you can. That's where you need some help".

The fictional book follows Jarred, a man who is angry at the world and coming to term with his new life post car crash. Without the use of his legs, he returns home to a father he hasn't seen in 10 years, tasked with overcoming the past at the same time as learning to adapt to life in a wheelchair.

Trigger warning: alcoholism, mental health, grief.

What a story. It's rare to read a book that delivers multiple character's with complex and complete story lines. Whilst the grief in each persons life manifested differently and they each deal with it differently, ultimately, everyone is looking for something. Whether it's forgiveness, answers or closure, each character is in pursuit of something outside of their reach.

The outline flits between present day Jarred and his father and flashbacks to his childhood, the loss of his mother and his choice to run away. It's linear, clear and leaves no stone unturned. McGinnis peppers the story with dark humour but doesn't shy away from the bleak challenges that come with overcoming grief.

I don't need to say too much, because the author said it all. It was a marvellous piece of writing, a sobering read and a real piece to make you think.

What a good book story of how a disillusioned teenager ends up in a wheelchair living with a father who he hasn’t spoken to in 10 years, but don’t be put off this is a truly great read one not to miss. Not for the faint hearted nor those who insist on happy families but it is still worth it

I found this book difficult to read at times but it was very well written and very different. It shows the complexities of human emotions and the effect of experiences on people. I didn’t particularly like Jarred and his behaviour was irritating and damaging. However, it portrayed his raw pain and inability to deal with his life and upbringing which spilt through until his late twenties. It had an almost autobiographical feel. Thanks to Netgalley for the preview.

A touching yet gritty book about relationships, forgiveness and how our experiences become part of our identities. The characters in this book were vivid and intensely human, and you feel drawn into the protagonist’s life and psyche from the first page. Well-written, punchy, honest and touching.

This is a story of opposites - love and hate, evil and redemption, violence and kindness, tragedy and recovery. It is deep and thought-provoking on one level and a story of a young man perhaps realising that appalling and antisocial teenage behaviour will always have consequences on another.

Jarred is paralysed after a road accident in which his dearest friend was killed. It’s not surprising he’s an angry young man after that, and even less surprising the more the reader learns of his upbringing. But there is goodness in Jarred - it’s just buried very deeply and he has to learn to trust the people who want to find it and to accept that he can love and be loved. There is a fairly small cast in this book, but each of the characters is superbly drawn, along with all their imperfections. It’s difficult not to become attached to some of the protagonists and also to want to shake some of them up a bit and make them see sense! I really enjoyed the book once I got into it, but it was a bit of a slow starter.

Jarredi s a very angry young man. His parents were both alcoholics and his father was abusive. After his mother died he cut off all contact with his father and brother and had issues with mental illness and drugs. Then he has a serious car accident and he needs their help. His father is now not drinking and tries to make it up to Jarred, but he finds it difficult to accept or forgive. He meets a nice girl, Serena, who works in a coffee shop and has a disabled brother. Is this enough for him to learn to love and trust again? I did not enjoy this book because I really disliked Jarred despite his problems. I did not find it "uplifting" as one reviewer said. However it is well written and deserves a good rating.

The coward details jarreds life as he is now wheelchair dependant due to an accident, interspersed with his past life as a wayward teenager, his life changes irrevocably when his mum died of an aneurysm and his father hit the bottle in attempt to hide his grief not noticing his son also needed him and was grieving!
Unrequited grief, alcoholism, mental health and physical disability make this a rather somber read!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

After a car accident Jarred discovers he’ll never walk again. Confined to a ‘giant roller-skate’, he finds himself with neither money nor a job. Worse still, he’s forced to live back home with the father he hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Add in a shoplifting habit, an addiction to painkillers and the fact that total strangers now treat him like he’s an idiot, it’s a recipe for self-destruction. How can he stop himself careering out of control?

This is a very hard-hitting but truthful book. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Events of the past and the present are skillfully woven together. I highly recommend this book.

After the accident Jarred found himself unable to use his legs and was told he would never walk again. His despair and damaged relationship with his father make him almost an anti-hero. His past misdemeanours and societal transgressions could place him on a path to destruction. Will he overcome everything? You almost hate the character but inevitably you keep willing him to surmount the obstacles, some of which he placed in his own way. A thought provoking read.

A book about how a father and son are unable to deal with loss, and what it is like to be paralyzed and reliant on a wheelchair. The story was ok but the abundant use of bad language put me off.
Not my 'cup of tea'.

The Coward is a striking novel. It confronts the issue of what its like to end up in a wheelchair. To confront the actions we make and having to live with them. Jarred, is on a rampage of self implosion seeing to do even more harm to himself after the accident and we also see his life leading up to it. The book is far from punishment for the reader though. The book is exquisitely written. For one, Jarred is surrounded by such a vast amount of love and support. We follow relationship with a number of women, all of which are engaging and written with such a vivid use of language, its easy to be drawn into both of them. The core of the novel comes from the relationship between Jarred and his dad. We learn early on that he he didn’t call him dad from an early age and throughout the novel is refered to as “Jack”.

Jack, Sarah and Mellissa intertwine in his life through different stages and bring out a different side to him. He also seems to have a good impact on people. Despite the negative self infliction he puts on himself throughout the novel, through his actions and approach. His relationship with Jack is what ties it all together though. The actions of his dad to protect and do best by his son paint a man trying to get forgiveness. Ultimatley that is the question the book asks, will Jarred be able to do it. The book leaves a trail throughout and I felt it was all dealt with in an excellent manor. This is a superb debut novel and one that confronts challenging issues with articulate ferocity