Okay, first, want to mention that I got to meet Meg Cabot yesterday! So cool!
Now, I've been putting this review off for a little bit. I'm not quite sure how to do it. This is a book that the author was selling personally at the MASL conference a couple weeks ago. When he told me the synopsis, I thought it sounded great, and would be a great book for boys. After reading it, I still think the plot is a great idea. Unfortunately, I don't feel that it was easy to read. Now my comments may be a little unfair because this book was self published, therefore it didn't have the editing that a book published by an actual publishing company would have. The way the actual dialogue was written was using proper English, not the way people actually talk, and that made it harder to read. There were also a few typos, but that's not that big of deal since I've found typos and stuff like that in bigger publishers books as well. But reading this book made me understand more about what the authors I've listened to speak lately have said about how editing is such a big part.
The story reminds me of the movie National Treasure, and I think the author compared it to that as well. Basically our main character is a high school senior named Evan Snowden. His grandfather tells great stories and seems to know a lot about mysteries throughout history. Supposedly he used to travel all over the world chasing tales of mystery to try to prove them. When the book starts his grandfather has been attacked in a house robbery. When Evan goes to the hospital and his grandfather finally awakens he gives him instructions to find something hidden in his house. When Evan and his best friend Charlie go to the house to get it, the people who broke in before come back. And now Evan and Charlie are drawn into the mess. In order to be safe they must find what this clue the grandfather has given them leads to. Basically it will be 13 treasures, 2 of which I believe they find in this book.
One other complaint, the author sometimes call Grandpa Kent just Kent, or calls the parents by their first names and that can sometimes be confusing to remember who it is you are reading about.
So, what I will say is that I will share this book with students who I think might be interested in it, but I don't know that if I was a librarian I would for sure invest in putting it in the library. Although it is a Missouri author who is a teacher, and that is kind of cool. I have also learned for my own writing, that I need to go back through and have someone else read for me and edit. And, maybe self publishing isn't the best way to go, unless you have the money and just really want to see your story in an actual book form.
