Scan barcode
ahmedazzouz's review against another edition
4.0
Great book
I loved this book and how it made live the story like I was there with Boady and Hoke. I love how it showed the pain racism caused and the suffering people used face.
I loved this book and how it made live the story like I was there with Boady and Hoke. I love how it showed the pain racism caused and the suffering people used face.
sarahdickerson10's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book, just not really my style.
jb93reads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
apriladventuring's review against another edition
5.0
I love stories like this one. It feels humble, has an imperfect protagonist, and evokes every kind of emotion. The relationships and people feel real and the storytelling brought me to the time and place so vividly.
A great, quick read that I would encourage others to enjoy as well.
A great, quick read that I would encourage others to enjoy as well.
kbranfield's review against another edition
5.0
Taking place in a rural Missouri town in 1976, Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens is a captivating coming of age novel with a slight mystery element.
Fifteen year old Boady Sanden is desperate to leave the small rural town where he lives with his mother, Emma. Thrust into the local Catholic high school after running with the wrong crowd, Boady is invisible to his classmates until he catches the attention of school bully Jarvis Halcomb and his pals. Luckily the school year is almost over so he goes to great lengths to stay out of Halcomb's sight. However, his confidence is misplaced and the last day of class, Jarvis demands Boady spray paint racial slurs on Boady's new neighbors' house. Despite his less than impressive first meeting with Thomas Elgin, the two teenagers have become close friends so Boady has no plan to do Halcomb's bidding. With racial tensions worsening over the course of the summer, Thomas and Boady find themselves in the crosshairs of the local white supremacy group after the teenagers make a shocking discovery.
Until Thomas moves to town, Boady remains friendless and an outsider who is unnoticed until his protective nature puts him at odds with Jarvis. He yearns for a life away from his small hometown and he has a plan in place to achieve his goal. Boady is saving all of the money he makes working part-time for his mom's boss, Wally Schenicker, in order to run away. Jarvis's uncle Milo and cousin Angus also work for Wally which could possibly complicate his plans to lie low in an attempt to avoid Jarvis.
Thomas is none too pleased with his family's move to rural Missouri. He has no idea how rampant racism is in the local community and he is stunned when Boady explains some of the ways in which African Americans are targeted. Despite the more serious issues occurring around them, Thomas and Boady spend much of the summer exploring the surrounding woods and camping on their own.
But the Sanden and Elgin families find it impossible to escape the rising tension. Thomas's dad Charles is the new manager of the local factory where Jarvis's father works. The disappearance of African American Lida Poe, who is suspected of embezzling from the factory, remains unsolved. Charles is very aware of the seething resentment and outright hatred directed his way, but he is determined to uncover the truth about Lida's guilt or innocence. His efforts are stymied by the lack of investigation by the local sheriff. As events play out, Boady's neighbor and mentor, Hoke Gardner, is instrumental in bringing in the state police but is it too late to protect them from the peril that is heading their way?
Nothing More Dangerous is a fraught novel that delves into serious topics such as racism, police corruption, and bullying. All of the characters are beautifully rendered and vibrantly three-dimensional. The small town setting vividly springs to life through Thomas and Boady's adventures and daily activities. Allen Eskens challenges readers to explore their own unconscious biases as Boady comes to terms with his. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this spellbinding and thought-provoking novel.
Fifteen year old Boady Sanden is desperate to leave the small rural town where he lives with his mother, Emma. Thrust into the local Catholic high school after running with the wrong crowd, Boady is invisible to his classmates until he catches the attention of school bully Jarvis Halcomb and his pals. Luckily the school year is almost over so he goes to great lengths to stay out of Halcomb's sight. However, his confidence is misplaced and the last day of class, Jarvis demands Boady spray paint racial slurs on Boady's new neighbors' house. Despite his less than impressive first meeting with Thomas Elgin, the two teenagers have become close friends so Boady has no plan to do Halcomb's bidding. With racial tensions worsening over the course of the summer, Thomas and Boady find themselves in the crosshairs of the local white supremacy group after the teenagers make a shocking discovery.
Until Thomas moves to town, Boady remains friendless and an outsider who is unnoticed until his protective nature puts him at odds with Jarvis. He yearns for a life away from his small hometown and he has a plan in place to achieve his goal. Boady is saving all of the money he makes working part-time for his mom's boss, Wally Schenicker, in order to run away. Jarvis's uncle Milo and cousin Angus also work for Wally which could possibly complicate his plans to lie low in an attempt to avoid Jarvis.
Thomas is none too pleased with his family's move to rural Missouri. He has no idea how rampant racism is in the local community and he is stunned when Boady explains some of the ways in which African Americans are targeted. Despite the more serious issues occurring around them, Thomas and Boady spend much of the summer exploring the surrounding woods and camping on their own.
But the Sanden and Elgin families find it impossible to escape the rising tension. Thomas's dad Charles is the new manager of the local factory where Jarvis's father works. The disappearance of African American Lida Poe, who is suspected of embezzling from the factory, remains unsolved. Charles is very aware of the seething resentment and outright hatred directed his way, but he is determined to uncover the truth about Lida's guilt or innocence. His efforts are stymied by the lack of investigation by the local sheriff. As events play out, Boady's neighbor and mentor, Hoke Gardner, is instrumental in bringing in the state police but is it too late to protect them from the peril that is heading their way?
Nothing More Dangerous is a fraught novel that delves into serious topics such as racism, police corruption, and bullying. All of the characters are beautifully rendered and vibrantly three-dimensional. The small town setting vividly springs to life through Thomas and Boady's adventures and daily activities. Allen Eskens challenges readers to explore their own unconscious biases as Boady comes to terms with his. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this spellbinding and thought-provoking novel.
readingrambles's review against another edition
5.0
This novel explores what it was like in the south during the 1970s and the racial tensions that existed during that time. The author explores the topic of racism in a way that leaves you sympathizing with the characters and shaking your head that these types of thoughts existed, and still do exist, in this county. This combination mystery and coming of age story will have you glued to the very last page. I still find myself thinking back fondly on Boady and Thomas. Highly highly recommend!
lorimichelekelley's review against another edition
1.0
Audible version: I did not finish this one, so perhaps it's unfair to give it one star. But, I returned it and have no curiosity about what happens in the last half. In the first part, it was kind of nice, because the main character (already can't remember his name) stood up to bullies and was a good kid, but then when he and his friend find the dead body, they don't scream and fall apart like one would think someone would do upon finding a dead human. No. The MC all of a sudden turns into Sherlock Holmes and starts looking for proof that the body had been dragged there, finds it in a little sapling and explains how he knows this because the buds blah blah blah. So maybe it's just me being a huge wimp who would have peed her pants and run home to mommy blubbering all the way and losing faith in humanity rather than bucking up and becoming a detective, but I couldn't listen to another minute.
sonia_reppe's review against another edition
5.0
1970s. This starts with Broady, 15, hearing news of a missing woman in his small Missouri town. Broady is good-hearted, hardworking (in construction), and endearing from the moment he foils a school bully. When pressured and threatened by a white supremacist group, he refuses to go along. He's not perfect, he confronts his own racial insensitivity at one point, gently corrected by his older black neighbor, but he's so easy to root for.
Racial tensions are alive in his town when a black man is made head manager of the plant. Broady becomes friends with the manager's son, and they play a part in trying to expose the shady situation surrounding the missing woman and a town scandal.
Racial tensions are alive in his town when a black man is made head manager of the plant. Broady becomes friends with the manager's son, and they play a part in trying to expose the shady situation surrounding the missing woman and a town scandal.
cassidypamela's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0