Book Review- Milam McGraw Propst- The Adventures of Ociee Nash Series

Milam McGraw Propst- The Adventures of Ociee Nash Series (Belle Bridge Books 2009) 3.75 Stars

The first book in the series, A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street, tells the tale of little Ociee Nash and her family living on a farm in Mississippi. Her mother passed away from the measles epidemic the previous year and the family must deal with the pain and sorrow of the loss. Meanwhile her father is trying to raise her and her two brothers, Ben (the younger brother), and Fred (the older brother), while keeping the farm running. In the hopes of helping her become a lady, he sends Ociee off to his sister’s place in North Carolina. Ociee is sad at first, but is quick to make friends and soon comes to enjoy living at her Aunt Mamie’s. A tender start to the series.

The second book, Ociee On Her Own, starts off where the first one left off. Ociee is still living with her aunt and they are preparing to celebrate the turn of the century. Little does she realize that another kind of celebration is about to happen too. When she gets a letter from her brother Fred she finds out that he is about to get married to Rebecca and so he is coming home for the wedding. Now she must leave her aunt’s to go to the wedding. As excited as she is there is mixed feelings about it as her father has lost thye farm and now works at a store in town. Her brother Ben has grown and their relationship needs some work to get back to where it was before she left. By the end of this book she has finally come to grips with her mother’s passing and has made peace with her mother’s memory.

The third book, The Further Adventures of Ociee Nash, finds Ociee when she is eleven-years-old, so a whole year seems to have passed. Although time has passed her brother Ben is still able to coax her into jumping off of a moving train.She is adjusting to the idea of her brother Fred being married, and now she finds out that her Aunt Mamie is marrying George in Asheville. Meanwhile her father gets a job in Tennessee and so he uproots the family to move to Memphis, which just happens to be where Fred is living. Now the family seems to be together again. Ociee’s curiosity and personality leads to her making new friend’s, even befriending a lady whom everyone else seems to either be afraid of, or just ignores.

The Adventures of Ociee Nash is a wonderful story for children of all ages to read. It is very similar to Anne of Green Gables, and yet has its own unique flare to it. The Nash family is full of life, adventure, and value. They are all very deep characters and Ociee is a little girl you cannot help but love. The story has many lessons involved in it and yet it does not seem to be preaching them to the children. The storyline is great and I love the adventures/situations Ociee finds herself in and how she manages to make the best of her situations/troubles. This beautiful tale tells of the Southern states in a time of change in the turn of the century as the 1900s take shape. The plot was not a deep or complicated one, but it was enough that I think young girls and some young guys will enjoy reading it. The writing style was also well done and I think young readers will appreciate Propst’s style.

I recommend this series to young girls and boys.

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- Jess C Scott- EyeLeash: a blog novel

Jess C Scott- EyeLeash: a blog novel (http://www.jesscscott.com/ 2009) 2 Stars

This review was upon request by author. Jade and Novan communicate via chat and are finding themselves, which is something many teens struggle with today. They will explore many issues, all of which are relevant for today and will be relevant tomorrow.

When I got the book in the mail my first thought was just how much I love the cover, it is unique, creative, and eye catching. I would have liked to see a little less sex, even though it is a major issue for teens. I thought that I could get past the blog/msn type of setup, but in the end I found it very distracting. I do think that the book covers a lot great teenage issues and I applaud the author for all that she managed to cover. Jess C Scott does have a writing talent it just isn’t my kind of thing.

This novel is not one that I will slap my personal recommendation on. You may like it if you love talking on msn, or are a teen in search of who you are.

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- Robert Louis Stevenson- Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson- Treasure Island (Western Publishing Company 1971) 4.5 Stars

I cannot possibly do a normal book review for this book as I am sure that most of you have read this book or at least know the story. Basically Jim Hawkins, through working at his father’s bar, meets an old pirate, Bill, who is afraid that other pirates will find him, in particular a one legged man. When the pirates locate Bill, Bill gives Hawkins a treasure map before he dies. Treasure Island tells the tale of Hawkins’ hunt for the treasure.
It is a timeless classic that I love. I had read it when I was a child and I enjoyed reading it again. If you have not read Treasure Island I recommend reading it. In my opinion it is a must read, and a must own for everyone’s library.

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- Arthur Slade- Dust

Arthur Slade- Dust (HarperCanada 2001) 3 Stars

Dust takes place in Horshoe, Saskatchewan and mentions many towns and areas that I know all about having been to the places. It even mentions Swift Current, my city. The reason for this is that Arthur Slade is a fellow Saskatchewan author. Dust tells the story of Robert, an eleven-year-old boy whose younger brother disappears one day and strange events start taking place. As more children disappear Robert begins to suspect the truth behind the events, but will any of the adults believe him?
This book had a great beginning and an even better ending; it was the parts in between that I had some problems with. I did like the book overall, but in parts it was hard to follow and a little bit to odd for me. The oddity got to be a little bit too much for me. A little bit weird is okay, I can deal with that, but in some parts it was just too odd to be believable. The dialogue was fairly strong, the characters managing to stay within their age. Character development was strong in the part of the main character, but aside form that I found myself wanting to know more about some characters, trying to understand who they are and the reasoning behind their actions.
Overall it was an average book in my opinion. If you are a teen that is into the weird and wacky, or fantasy, you may enjoy reading Dust.

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- M. T. Anderson- The Game of Sunken Places

M. T. Anderson- The Game of Sunken Places (Scholastic Inc. 2004) 3.5 Stars

This book seems like an interesting mixture of Jumanji and Lord of the Rings, or even Narnia. Brian and Gregory get and invitation in the mail to go to an Uncle’s mansion for a couple of weeks. Little do they know just how strange this mansion is and how odd their relative is. Something weird is going on and the young boys seem to be trapped in the middle of it, if only they knew what ‘it’ was. An adventure is in store whether they like it or not.

This was not an overly original idea, but how many books are now? The Game of Sunken Places starts off quite slow, making it a little bit difficult to read at first. Pacing goes up and down until the last quarter of the book when it picks up and finally grips your attention. I did like the basics of the ‘game’ that they were playing; it seemed like a creative way of bringing in old ideas to make something fresh. The characters were a little bit weak, not having a whole lot of development. It was a good plot, with some interesting twists at the end, although I would have liked to see more twists throughout the book.

Overall it was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to YA readers who like fantasy.

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
www.tonypeters.webs.com