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2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

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2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

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2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

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2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

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2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

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2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

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European Reading Challenge 2026

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2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

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2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

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The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

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The Life Skills Reading Challenge

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Showing posts with label Tim Wynne-Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Wynne-Jones. Show all posts
Saturday, December 28, 2019

YA Canadian Survival Story Keeps Me (Mostly) Riveted to the Page

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Every summer, the Crows and the Hoebeeks trek out to their remote, neighboring cabins in the wilderness of northern Ontario.  The same age, Nate Crow and Dodge Hoebeek have spent happy days together swimming, fishing, exploring, and canoeing.  Then, four months ago, Dodge and his father took a trip into the mountains alone; neither one came home.  Although Mr. Hoebeek's body was recovered, Dodge's has never been found.  Nate has made it his mission to find Dodge.  Something in him can't help but hope that maybe his old buddy is alive, just holed up somewhere awaiting aid.

Nate finally convinces his father he's skilled enough in wilderness survival to trek to the cabin without adult supervision.  When the friend who was supposed to accompany him gets grounded, Nate decides to make the trip alone without telling his parents he'll be going solo.  As soon as he arrives, he realizes he's in for more than he bargained for.  Several rough-looking men, whom he recognizes from the news as escaped convicts, have taken over his family's cabin.  Paralyzed with indecision, Nate can't fathom what to do next.  With an incoming blizzard making everything worse, he must rely on his instincts and the survival skills he's learned over the years to escape the mountain alive.

The Starlight Claim by Tim Wynne-Jones is an action-packed adventure/survival novel that will appeal to even reluctant readers.  There's enough going on to keep anyone's interest, although the flashback sections do slow down the story's forward momentum.  They humanize Dodge, who still seems like a jerk, but I'm not sure how much they actually add to the story.  The other chapters, though, are exciting enough to make up for the slow parts.  I saw the big reveal coming from a mile away, so that was a little disappointing.  Overall, though, The Starlight Claim is a decent action/adventure story that kept me (mostly) riveted to the page.

(Readalikes:  Um, nothing is coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Starlight Claim from Candlewick Press for the purpose of Cybils Award judging.  Thank you!
Monday, October 10, 2011

Caution: Don't Blink, You Might Miss Something

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Living on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has taught 16-year-old Brent Conboy (aka "Blink") a thing or two. Like how to score a free breakfast. Picking uneaten morsels off room service trays left outside hotel room doors is lucrative enough to take the risk of getting caught. One day, though, he bites off more than he can chew. A lot more. After witnessing what turns out to be the kidnapping of an important CEO, Blink makes a crucial mistake: he gets involved.

Blink's not sure what exactly he saw outside of the CEO's hotel room, but it didn't look to him like Jack Niven was taken by force. The businessman appeared to be calm, unharmed. That's all Blink means to tell Jack's daughter when she calls on the Blackberry her father left behind - he doesn't want to start talking to her, doesn't want to be confiding in her, and, most of all, doesn't want to trust her. Except he does. As much as Blink needs to walk away, he has to help Alyson Niven find her father and not just because he feels bad for her, but because she'll pay him to do it.

Things get even more complicated when Blink meets Kitty "Caution" Pettigrew, a snarky 16-year-old on the run from her drug dealer boyfriend. Kitty's got all the street smarts Blink lacks and she's willing to help him find Niven. For a price. Without her, he may not be able to pull the whole thing off. But can he trust yet another girl he hardly knows? Or will his plan backfire, landing Blink in jail or worse - six feet under?

Blink & Caution, a new YA novel by prolific children's writer Tim Wynne-Jones, is one of those can't-put-it-down, edge-of-your-seat thrill rides that leaves you breathless with all its heart-stopping twists and turns. And yet, it's not the adrenaline rush that makes the book so compelling. It's the intertwining stories of Blink and Caution, two wounded souls who find redemption in each other. Although the mystery itself gets predictable, I enjoyed Blink & Caution's quick pace, the characters, and the storytelling (although the voice in Blink's sections takes a little getting used to). I haven't read anything else by Wynne-Jones, but that's about to change.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little bit of The Client by John Grisham)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, violence, and some sexual innuendo/content

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Blink & Caution from the generous folks at Candlewick Press. Thank you!

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