Review: Great plot, with a few minor issues
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 16, 2010
I enjoyed this one as far as the plot goes. It's a bit of a warning tale for teenagers to listen to their parents (or maybe that's how I read it because I'm a parent - not of a teenager yet, oh my!). I think you know the outcome, but not how we get there, which was quite a fun ride.This young adult short story's plot is well thought-out. I think this would be a great book for a fourteen to seventeen year old boy. I'm actually amazed that more books aren't written specifically for boys in that age group so I was excited to see and review this one. I can see a young man enjoying the plot points and following along with Vince and Tommy as they get themselves into deeper and deeper trouble. I felt the writing itself was decently realistic.There were a few minor issues for me. I thought the dialogue could be a bit stilted. I sometimes felt like the back and forth exchange of words weren't following each other - it seemed as though they were speaking separately but at the same time, if that makes sense. I didn't feel like they were responding to the conversation. My other problem was the editing of the chapter breaks. They seemed extremely random and out of place in many instances. A good editor could have cleaned that up a bit for the author.I will say that I really enjoyed the "what if" scenarios that the author presented us with sprinkled throughout the text. It did make me think and want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I also really enjoyed the character of Vince and I found myself really wanting to know more about him. I would love it if the author were to give us some more short stories - or perhaps a full-length novel with this character in it.Overall, worth a read for teenage boys or people who enjoy a good YA novel for boys.