Across The Pond
Thanks to Harry Potter and other popular books, there appears to be much interest in England these days. This is book is targeted towards a young adult or teen, but as a 47 year old adult I appreciated the Light & Easy read. This is a romance and travel adventure of a teen boy that comes "across the pond" from England to America for an eye opening adventure.
His parents have won a trip to Australia and send their son to stay with their American friends. As luck would have it the main character of this story, Fred, meets a young lady, a bully and an all American baseball hero on his short visit. It is a feel good story where everyone that is good makes out well and the bad guys lose!
This is a book that I would readily recommend for all tweens, preteens and early teens. I believe that it will appeal equally to boys as it would girls, even though it is labeled "romance" it is a well rounded story complete with school yard brawls and sports too!
One of the best features of the book , that was of most interest to me was the cultural comparisons. The main character wants a video game console and in order to get that he has to complete a notebook with words that are different or objects that have different titles in each of the countries. This is humorous and informative and the main reason my own 13 year old step-daughter wants to read it!
I am sure there will be a sequel to this story as the ending had a few possibilities, that hinted at "more to come." The main character, Fred, is a great guy for young ones to relate too, he has a lot of fortitude and great character for a young man which is rare in today's society. An example is set in this story for other youngsters without being "preachy."
Story Heart spins a good yarn and this book is no exception. I believe that everyone will enjoy it and it could quite possibly be made into a movie or TV special! Disney or Hallmark either one would like the components of it! Remember you read it here first!
Thanks to Harry Potter and other popular books, there appears to be much interest in England these days. This is book is targeted towards a young adult or teen, but as a 47 year old adult I appreciated the Light & Easy read. This is a romance and travel adventure of a teen boy that comes "across the pond" from England to America for an eye opening adventure.
His parents have won a trip to Australia and send their son to stay with their American friends. As luck would have it the main character of this story, Fred, meets a young lady, a bully and an all American baseball hero on his short visit. It is a feel good story where everyone that is good makes out well and the bad guys lose!
This is a book that I would readily recommend for all tweens, preteens and early teens. I believe that it will appeal equally to boys as it would girls, even though it is labeled "romance" it is a well rounded story complete with school yard brawls and sports too!
One of the best features of the book , that was of most interest to me was the cultural comparisons. The main character wants a video game console and in order to get that he has to complete a notebook with words that are different or objects that have different titles in each of the countries. This is humorous and informative and the main reason my own 13 year old step-daughter wants to read it!
I am sure there will be a sequel to this story as the ending had a few possibilities, that hinted at "more to come." The main character, Fred, is a great guy for young ones to relate too, he has a lot of fortitude and great character for a young man which is rare in today's society. An example is set in this story for other youngsters without being "preachy."
Story Heart spins a good yarn and this book is no exception. I believe that everyone will enjoy it and it could quite possibly be made into a movie or TV special! Disney or Hallmark either one would like the components of it! Remember you read it here first!
Reviewed by Lauren Ashley for TeensReadToo.com
ACROSS THE POND brings us the story of Englander Fred, who goes on vacation to the United States, where he stays with a family friend. This family has a daugther, Brit, who becomes quite attached to Fred, and vice versa.
However, when Fred learns something about Brit's past that she hasn't told anyone else, he decides that he has to do right by her and make sure the offender learns his lesson. During his stay in the U.S., Fred works on a project that focuses on the differences in the English language, which you find throughout the book.
This is a short, entertaining read. I liked Fred's character for the most part and enjoyed the mishaps he found himself in due to the language "barriers." His project was fun and I really liked seeing the various words and their meanings between the U.S. and England. It was exciting to see that I knew most of them, as well!!
However, I did have a slight problem with Brit. She's overly-emotional, and I felt that their relationship happened really fast. I like romance in books, and it worked okay for this story, but Fred's trip didn't seem long enough to fall that deeply "in love" with Brit.
But I'm sure it's happened and I know teens often have quick, fast relationships, so it's not a really big problem...just a thought I had at points in the story.
ACROSS THE POND brings us the story of Englander Fred, who goes on vacation to the United States, where he stays with a family friend. This family has a daugther, Brit, who becomes quite attached to Fred, and vice versa.
However, when Fred learns something about Brit's past that she hasn't told anyone else, he decides that he has to do right by her and make sure the offender learns his lesson. During his stay in the U.S., Fred works on a project that focuses on the differences in the English language, which you find throughout the book.
This is a short, entertaining read. I liked Fred's character for the most part and enjoyed the mishaps he found himself in due to the language "barriers." His project was fun and I really liked seeing the various words and their meanings between the U.S. and England. It was exciting to see that I knew most of them, as well!!
However, I did have a slight problem with Brit. She's overly-emotional, and I felt that their relationship happened really fast. I like romance in books, and it worked okay for this story, but Fred's trip didn't seem long enough to fall that deeply "in love" with Brit.
But I'm sure it's happened and I know teens often have quick, fast relationships, so it's not a really big problem...just a thought I had at points in the story.
