Review: You'll need to catch your breath after this one!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2013
This review can also be seen at topoftheheapreviews(dot)comYoung Adult novels need to ride a fine line between being accessible to a younger audience while at the same time not insulting their intelligence.  It's even harder to do so while writing in a time period that may not captivate the younger audiences of today.  So how did this YA adventure do?When I first started this book about 14 year old Tom and his cousin Will it had a certain air about it that wanted me to compare it to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, or even later, The Hardy Boys, with a little bit of Goonies thrown in.The first thing I should point out, is that even though the book takes place in 1923, it really doesn't matter with the exception of a couple characters and the way everyone speaks.  So that shouldn't be a deterrent, which is great because this book is a very good book, and a great way to introduce young adults into adventure.  As an added bonus, if they read the other sections, they will find that these locals really do or did exist!  However, if some strong language is not your thing you may want to steer clear.The language in the book isn't over the top, it isn't thrown in just be thrown in, it's there because that's how they talk.  Ben Woodard does a great job of making sense of this.  He didn't change the book to suit his needs, the characters spoke as they should have.  Yes, they are teenage boys, but really, we all know teenage boys when away from parents talk like that.The book is a short book clocking in at around 130 pages, so there isn't a whole lot of individual character development, but the dynamic between the two boys is well written and the interactions between them and the other characters ring true and are very natural.What is lacking in characterization though is made up for in a lot of adventure.....and gun fights, and gangs, speeding trains, hide and seek etc.  It's exciting is what I'm trying to say.You have two boys that find what they think is a deserted barge and find a dead deputy.  They are seen by someone they affectionately call "Toothy" and chased off, left for dead.  That doesn't deter them though, as they go right back into the thick of things after some more planning to figure out what happened to the deputy and what was going on with the barge and beyond.  So you have all the action in the world going on, and this book is over before you know it!Bottom Line:  It's a good read.  If you have someone that is on the fence about wanting to read books, this is a fantastic choice for them.  It's fairly brief, but it has everything you could want in a book.  Fun characters, evil villains, high action and adventure are the spotlight of this tale.  Once you finally reach the end, you'll wonder where the time went.....right after you catch your breath!