Book Review- Eric Wilson- The Unmasking of ‘Ksan

Eric Wilson- The Unmasking of ‘Ksan (HarperCollins 2003) 3.5 Stars

When a famous and valuable mask is stolen from Dawn, her people are devastated. The mask is an integral part of there people’s history, making the theft a personal slight against her people. Dawn is being blamed for the theft and she is turning to the one friend who seems to be standing by her side, Graham. Together they must dig for clues and go up against the criminals responsible. Taking place in the mountains of British Columbia there are many places to hide and even more to investigate.

I found this novel to be a refreshing breather from Wilson’s Tom and Liz Austen series. It was nice to see that he can write about someone other than his main two characters. I love British Columbia as it is where I was born. As a result I loved the setting of this novel and found it interesting to learn about the culture of this Native American group. I also enjoyed learning about Graham as he is new to Eric Wilson novels. The plot was an interesting one, although the amount of teaching once again kind of slowed things down. The ending was fairly good and even a little surprising, although most of it I had seen coming, still he did throw in a twist that I did not expect.

I recommend The Unmasking of ‘Ksan to kids who fall into that middle reader group.

For more of my book reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

ww.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Eric Wilson- The Emily Carr Mystery

Eric Wilson- The Emily Carr Mystery (HarperCollins 2003) 3 Stars

Liz Austen is Visiting Victoria, British Columbia for a friend’s wedding when a man sinks the boat they are on and a valuable painting goes missing. Now Liz finds herself thrown into the middle of a mystery. She must try to locate the thieves before it is too late, all while trying to prepare for the wedding. The Thirteen Oaks mansion may not be as safe as it seems and the family may not be as happy as they put on.

Normally I really love this series, but I have found that the deeper I get into this series the more educational Eric Wilson’s books become. I do not have any problem educational as I think that it is a great thing to have in a middle reader novel. That being said it gets in the way of the mystery and slows things down to a crawling pace at times, which made it so that I almost did not finish this one, as was the case with the book right before this one in the series. The overall plot as usual was good, although I would have been happy with more depth. I did enjoy the characters as they were well-created and fun. It had some intense moments, but these were drowned out by fluff.

I am sad to say that I do not recommend The Emily Carr Mystery.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Eric Wilson- The Inuk Mountie Adventure

Eric Wilson- The Inuk Mountie Adventure (HarperCollins 1996) 4 Stars

With Canada considering joining with the United States, companies are looking to change the course of rivers so that they will run Canadian water into the States. The Prime Minister of Canada seems to be backing this one hundred percent and he has the public eating out of his hand. However a micro-cassette may change all of this if it comes to light. Tom Austen is on a school trip up north to Gjoa Haven and Tom hears that the cassette may be near by. While participating in cultural events and learning many useful things form his Mountie host, Tom Austen hunts for the cassette chasing his suspects on foot and snowmobile. Meanwhile he finds out that he may have more to learn about life than he had thought, and the Inuit people may be just the ones to teach him.

The Inuk Moutnie Adventure is my favourite book that I have read by Eric Wilson so far. I enjoyed the amount of growth of character we saw in Tom Austen and his friend Dietmar. They seemed to be learning so much from the Inuit people and this may just teach our children about cultural acceptance, which is an important lesson. Meanwhile the case was a very intriguing one with some ideas that were quite different from your usual mystery novel. It had action components and yet we saw Tom Austen scrounging for information and coming up with leads that he thought went one direction only to find out that he was completely wrong. Eric Wilson had some good twists, not all of them were unpredictable, but for the intended age group they were very well done. I would have liked the ending to come as more of a surprise, but again for the intended age group it would have come as more of a surprise. I enjoyed hearing about the far north as it does get a lot of attention in very many books or movies. This made the information more interesting and I found that I learned a fair bit from this book.

I recommend The Inuk Moutnie Adventure to middle readers who like mystery.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Eric Wilson- Code Red at the Supermall

Eric Wilson- Code Red at the Supermall (Collins Publishers 1994) 3.5 Stars

When a bomber strikes at the West Edmonton Mall the Austen family is on the case. In search of the bomber they come across events that draw them into the mall’s various sections, making friends with many of the employees, and also making enemies. They must also find the culprit of a racial destruction of a store, which will make them a wonderful ally who can show them the mall, but will also make them a deadly enemy who seems willing to stop at nothing to end their investigation.

Having been to the West Edmonton Mall I was impressed by all that Eric Wilson managed to include in his novel. The investigation took them from one part of the mall to the opposite end. It involved many of the biggest attractions which I have no doubt would interest readers. The characters were very interesting and well-put-together. It was interesting to see how the different personalities clashed. The plot was intriguing although I may have included a little bit more for the storyline. I wish I had more to say about this great children’s novel, but words seem to be escaping me.

I recommend Code Red at the Supermall to young readers of mystery.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Eric Wilson- Spirit in the Rainforest

Eric Wilson- Spirit in the Rainforest (HarperCollins 2003) 3.5 Stars

Tom Austen is on summer holidays in British Columbia when he discovers the mysterious Nearby Island. Haunted by ghostly voices and a strange hermit Nearby Island is avoided by all locals. Tom and Liz Austen take shelter in the forest and are afraid that this may be one mystery they are not brave enough to solve.

This mystery was slightly disappointing for me. The actual mystery was only a very tiny portion of the book (maybe 15%), which was not what I was hoping for. It took me a really long time to actually figure out what the point of the novel was. It was also the weakest character development I have seen from Eric Wilson yet. That being said it does take place in British Columbia where I was born and raised for many years, and continued to spend most summers and many Christmases at after I left (including a week of this past summer). The BC factor has given it some bonus points as it brought back some memories and made me want to return to beautiful British Columbia. It also had a great educational factor in the book, which is great for kids.

I am afraid that I can only recommend Spirit in the Rainforest to Eric Wilson fans.

For more of my reviews check out my website, http://www.tonypeters.webs.com/

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Eric Wilson- Murder on the Canadian

Eric Wilson- Murder on the Canadian (HarperCollins 2003) 3.5 Stars

Murder on the Canadian is the first of Tom Austen’s mysteries. He is on a trip to visit his grandparents and finds a mysterious man with a case handcuffed to his wrist. While investigating this man, a murder takes place on board the train and he must figure out who is guilty.

Wilson has a way of writing that I think kids love. His characters are easy for kids to relate to and the mystery is always entertaining, Murder on the Canadian is no exception. The plot was quite interesting when it got to the main storyline. I did think that there was a little bit too much pre-mystery writing. Wilson should have gotten into the murder sooner to keep his reader’s interest. Kids have short attention spans, like many of us adults, and the writer needs to keep that in mind at all times.

I recommend Murder on the Canadian to mystery readers and kids of all ages.

For more of my reviews check out my website, http://www.tonypeters.webs.com/

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Eric Wilson – Disneyland Hostage

Eric Wilson – Disneyland Hostage (HarperCollins 2003) 3.75 Stars

Liz Austen visits Disneyland with her aunt in the hopes of having a fun vacation, but when a young boy disappears from a hotel room, she becomes involved in a dangerous case. No one in Disneyland is safe, not for one second.
This was not really too much of a mystery, it was more of an adventure novel. In terms of plot it was not very in depth, which is kind of good for kids. I did find myself enjoying this book, although I have to say that Wilson has written better. The story starts off with a plane ride, where we find out that Liz is deathly afraid of flying, which makes for a humorous start to the book. I did find that Wilson digressed from the main storyline in parts that made it slightly dry at times. The book did not really grip my attention until about halfway through when it picked up the pace a little. The ending really did make up for the lack of action in the beginning, earning it more stars than it would have gotten. I loved the twist at the end, although it was slightly expected and predictable, but kids are not as likely to see it coming.
I do recommend Eric Wilson’s novels to kids who like mysteries or adventure stories. Disneyland Hostage is a pleasant and enjoyable read.

For more of my reviews, visit my website. http://www.tonypeters.webs.com/

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping