An Illusion of Control

By: Hannah Rae

Narrated by: Chris Kerrigan

Lake Caywood is abuzz with controversy.

Franco Jeffries, a six-year-old boy, likes wearing dresses…and Franco’s decision to wear a dress puts him at the center of a much larger debate:

• What is normal?
• Who is right?
• Who is wrong?

The discussions sting with truth and fear, quickly causing a normal community to become an angry hive.

Sugar is sweet, honey is sweeter, and listening is sweetest of all.

©2024 Hannah Rae Meeson (P)2025 Hannah Rae Meeson

Great Story About Current Issues

An Illusion of Control is a great, short listen! Rae explores current issues offering a variety of perspectives set in a small, fictional town. The novella stresses the importance of taking the time to listen and understand others. Kerrigan’s narration was amazing and brought the large cast of characters to life. Also, the song at the end of the book was so enjoyable! I want to listen to it on repeat! I highly recommend listening to this book!

Multiple Perspectives

This book will make you think.

An Illusion of Control explores several perspectives of a few issues that are currently affecting schools and school boards across America. It considers WHY individuals feel they way they do, but at the same time suggests that maybe, despite various perspectives, it’s possible for people to get along if they’d just start to listen (and empathize) with one another.

We all know the phrase “there are two sides to every argument.” This book takes that concept to heart. Hannah Rae has masterfully captured the controversy being faced by a small town and makes you fall in love with the characters—even those characters whose perspectives may be different from yours.

Chris Kerrigan does an excellent job of narration as well. PLUS, there’s a song at the end of the audiobook that coincides with the lyrics that appear at the beginning of the novel. It’s all very clever.

I look forward to more from this author. It’s always fun to learn which characters from previous books will show up in new ones. An Illusion of Control allowed me to reunite with several past friends.

So Timely, So Relevant, So Relatable, So NEEDS to be heard!

Lake Caywood is not as it was. The once quiet community of tolerance, peace and understanding is fighting. Whose right, whose wrong … there are no easy answers … and there won’t be until EVERYONE puts their agendas aside, asks the hard questions and listens, really LISTENS to the hearts of those they claim to care about. Until then everything is just “An Illusion of Control”. Poignant, timely and relevant, this story really opened my eyes, my heart and my mind. The writing is beyond brilliant! There is a lot of emotion packed into this one and I felt it all! There is also a nice balance of humor cleverly couched in the way Bas and the guys, uh, not so subtly make their point! But, and this is BIG, the point gets made! I can’t say how, that would be a major spoiler, but oh MY, it is sooo ingenious, sooo well executed, and carries delightfully throughout the story! On to the characters! A town full of REAL feeling, human characters deftly interact through this smooth flowing, cohesive story! They are ALL so beautifully defined, “so human you’ll swear you REALLY know ‘em”. I’m betting more than a few could be found in YOUR town, on YOUR school board or in YOUR local pub or eatery, and I’d also bet, some are up to no good! The scenes and characters of this powerful story were brought to life by perfectly timed, perfectly voiced, emotionally on point narration, truly giving beautiful life to the authors vision! An Illusion of Control” pulled at my heartstrings, made me laugh, made me cry, made perfect sense, made me THINK, and is truly deserving of FIVE fantastic stars across all categories!

So many voices. So many thoughts.

This book really made me think. A lot. Everyone has an opinion and all opinions are accepted in this novel. There is no right or wrong. I wish that Jenna Bush Hager would discover Hannah Rae.

And the Flannel Lobster song at the end is a gift!

So timely!

This is a fantastic story about seeing other’s viewpoints even if you don’t agree. I hope it is widely read prior to our next school board election!