Review: Playing for Keeps
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 9, 2013
Pete Davidson is not exactly thrilled at the prospect of spending a week with his Papaw and Mamaw while his parents go on a Caribbean cruise, especially since he hardly knows them and they live far away from civilization and the life to which he is accustomed. In addition, they are rather strange, and Papaw tells Pete not to enter the nearby graveyard. However, Pete doesn't heed the warning, and suddenly he finds himself in another world that is akin to the Twilight Zone and that is inhabited by various creatures and monsters. In order to return home, he must win the requisite scavenger hunt against Benny "Bones" Barton, a conniving skeleton with his own ulterior motive.Combining mild horror with fantasy, Brian Barnett's novella, "Graveyard Scavenger Hunt," creates an engaging middle-grade read in the tradition of R.L. Stine and Alvin Schwartz. Barnett accurately depicts the psyche and thought process of an adolescent boy, producing a realistic protagonist. The journey on which Pete embarks is reminiscent of Dorothy's adventures through the land of Oz. Despite dealing with potentially frightening elements and characters thematically, Barnett crafts them in such a way as to make them only mildly fearsome. There were some grammatical errors, but none that detracted from the narrative, which is written in the third-person limited voice and told from Pete's point of view.  The story itself unfolds in a quick fashion, and while it could be longer and more fully developed, the present length will appeal to young readers.I received a complimentary copy of this e-book in return for an honest review.