While this story kept me entertained until the end, it was not stellar by all means. The book is a fictional account of a true story about 2 paperboys in Iowa who go missing and are never found. The story surrounds the Cox's family. We have an overworked, single mother who is too tired to fully be there for her kids. Then there is Crystal who is the older sister that is trying to find her way in journalism but money seems to always be the obstacle. When a paperboy goes missing, she decides to do a story on that for a scholarship. Then there is her little brother, Sammy. Once an outgoing kid, he now is overweight and moody. As the story progresses, so does the family. You see things that maybe you know of now but back in the 80's, they didn't really even think about.
The set up is good and the story was intriguing. The biggest issue was the writing. Although it wasn't terrible, it just didn't live up to what I was expecting. There was a lot of repetition, some slow moving parts, and the character development was just okay. The one that got me the most was Crystal. She seemed very childish for her age. The ending was good and I am glad I read it. Made me go look up the true story and read about it.
The set up is good and the story was intriguing. The biggest issue was the writing. Although it wasn't terrible, it just didn't live up to what I was expecting. There was a lot of repetition, some slow moving parts, and the character development was just okay. The one that got me the most was Crystal. She seemed very childish for her age. The ending was good and I am glad I read it. Made me go look up the true story and read about it.
This book was inspired by the paperboy abductions in the mid 80s in Iowa which I didn't know about
I'm not really sure what age this was written for but the topic might be disturbing for younger than 12, the story is about 12-13 yr old boys
There are no graphic descriptions but there is a good moral lesson on 'stranger danger'
I was not impressed with the writing, it is very slow and plods along with too much 'thoughts' and 'thinking'
it doesn't take much to figure it out
I can't give it more than the 2* rating as it is not suspenseful or a thriller and not much of a mystery
I'm not really sure what age this was written for but the topic might be disturbing for younger than 12, the story is about 12-13 yr old boys
There are no graphic descriptions but there is a good moral lesson on 'stranger danger'
I was not impressed with the writing, it is very slow and plods along with too much 'thoughts' and 'thinking'
it doesn't take much to figure it out
I can't give it more than the 2* rating as it is not suspenseful or a thriller and not much of a mystery
