Review: A Retro Town with a Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2013
Dodge, a small town in Iowa, is stuck in a pre-1970s world. It's a digital no-fly zone, not by law or the preference of its residents, but because of a geological anomaly. Or at least that's what the residents have been told for two generations. Vintage vehicles, vacuum tubes, and dial telephones are a fact of life in Dodge. Is it any wonder that the kids graduating high school only have one thing on their minds: to get out of Dodge?When one of the recent graduates finds a vintage guitar at a local estate auction, they think they may have found the answer to their problem. It could be sold for thousands and give them each a stake for college or a start on a new life elsewhere.There are a lot of stories packed into this book. There's the coming-of-age thread of the four teens finding themselves jobs and planning for the future, the mystery of the real cause of the localized anti-digital environment, the story of their efforts to obtain the vintage Fender guitar, and the back story of the guitar itself. I was hooked from the introductory prologue that setup the guitar's back story and tapped into a piece of rock and roll history that has become almost like a myth over the decades to those of us who remember the music of the 1950s.Although targeted at the Young Adult audience, this book offers more than just the typical coming-of-age formula. I'm a long way from being a young adult, but I found the book entertaining, and it held my interest throughout all of the subplots. Fans of the early rock and roll music and newer jazz and rock can relate to the music mentioned in the parts of the story pertaining to the guitar. Conspiracy or mystery fans have the hunt for the secrets behind the nearby installation staffed by paramilitary and finding the cause of the frying of all things digital in the town.Throughout the story there are the reminders of how much life has changed with the availability of computers, DVDs, CDs, MP3 players, and all things digital and give the reader a new appreciation for the modern conveniences we usually take for granted. And it is all wrapped together in an very entertaining package.Recommended.