Take a photo of a barcode or cover
The writing style is smooth and it flows really well. I found myself picking this up to read during times I would not normally read, drawn to finding out what will happen in the story.
The subject matter is a bit grown up, but what might confuse kids more is the setting of the 1980s. A time of Cassette tapes, VHS, and Tandy computers or none at all. For me, who remembers those things, it was a bit nostalgic and things that could have easily been taken care of in today's setting was a struggle back then, especially the radio station set up.
I haven't read too many books on hoarding, and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen with Benny and his Dad...
*Spoilers after this*
.
.
...but I think the author took the easy way out. And I think it might have only happen to make the catchphrase "When Pigs Fly" happen. Everything from that point on stopped feeling realistic. It's like the author thought she was going too deep and needed to lighten things up.
Lighten things up with a tornado. It flattened the town, but everyone lived! The dog was saved, the house of cats was rescued by the dog! Benny drove a motorcycle to rescue his maybe-gf and he had never driven one before. It was large enough to fit 2 kids and an adult on! And Benny was only 12! (I kept forgetting how young he was. He acts a bit older).
The town had won a contest to put a home computer in every house, but the contest people ending up rebuilding the whole town. Hello, expensive!
What I was really hoping to see was Benny's dad realizing how bad he was being when something nearly happens to his son. I really wanted to see the fall out from the town cleaning up his house without his permission. Maybe unearthing a snow globe that has a flying pig in it, or something.
Or a fire. Have the whole place accidentally burn to the ground.
The subject matter is a bit grown up, but what might confuse kids more is the setting of the 1980s. A time of Cassette tapes, VHS, and Tandy computers or none at all. For me, who remembers those things, it was a bit nostalgic and things that could have easily been taken care of in today's setting was a struggle back then, especially the radio station set up.
I haven't read too many books on hoarding, and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen with Benny and his Dad...
*Spoilers after this*
.
.
...but I think the author took the easy way out. And I think it might have only happen to make the catchphrase "When Pigs Fly" happen. Everything from that point on stopped feeling realistic. It's like the author thought she was going too deep and needed to lighten things up.
Lighten things up with a tornado. It flattened the town, but everyone lived! The dog was saved, the house of cats was rescued by the dog! Benny drove a motorcycle to rescue his maybe-gf and he had never driven one before. It was large enough to fit 2 kids and an adult on! And Benny was only 12! (I kept forgetting how young he was. He acts a bit older).
The town had won a contest to put a home computer in every house, but the contest people ending up rebuilding the whole town. Hello, expensive!
What I was really hoping to see was Benny's dad realizing how bad he was being when something nearly happens to his son. I really wanted to see the fall out from the town cleaning up his house without his permission. Maybe unearthing a snow globe that has a flying pig in it, or something.
Or a fire. Have the whole place accidentally burn to the ground.