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A review by beccadavies
Last Message by Shane Peacock
4.0
David McLean lived a long and spectacular life but there was still so much he wanted to do but for some reason or another, couldn't. So when he died, he passed on his bucket list to his seven grandsons. Each boy was given a task in a secret envelope and told not to tell anyone about it. Each adventure is different but each boy gets something out of the experience.
Adam Murphy is David McLean's only American grandson. His task was actually three-fold but all took place in the south of France- where his grandfather was stationed as a pilot for a time during the war.
His first task: go find the family that saved David McLean from the French Milice (French Nazis) and tell them they are in possession of a Van Gogh painting. They thought it was worthless but it hangs in their barn. David McLean himself was tempted to steal it and avoided that area long after the war as he felt shame for these thoughts.
His second task: find the rock that David McLean gave to this friend, author of the Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Expery to confirm that the wrekage found in the early 2000s was indeed the plane that he was flying in (and also to confirm that the friendship was a true one).
Task three: See what no public person has seen before- go the the Chauvet Cave and see the images crafted over 30,0000 years ago.
I really enjoyed the tasks and following Adam on his adventures through France. I loved the fact that this Canadian author made his protagonist American. It made it funnier and I loved how it kept refering back to Canadians in humourous ways.
The whole premise of the seven books is just such a brillant idea I keep thinking "why hasn't it been done before?!" The fact that its Canadian means even more to me.
The only reason I'm giving it four stars out of five is that it was just a little too unrealistic. Yes I know its suppose to be a mystery for boys and a little out there and all but I felt that Adam met too many nice Frenchmen who were more than willing to help him out when the reality would have been very different indeed.
I think what I liked the most about the book was the fact that it introduced me to parts and history of France that I knew very little of and now have a curiousity about. If this was the author's intent, he did a very good job of it.
The book has just enough adventure, mystery, action and even romance to keep any young teen or pre-teen boy hooked.
My first book in the series and looking forward to reading another!
Adam Murphy is David McLean's only American grandson. His task was actually three-fold but all took place in the south of France- where his grandfather was stationed as a pilot for a time during the war.
His first task: go find the family that saved David McLean from the French Milice (French Nazis) and tell them they are in possession of a Van Gogh painting. They thought it was worthless but it hangs in their barn. David McLean himself was tempted to steal it and avoided that area long after the war as he felt shame for these thoughts.
His second task: find the rock that David McLean gave to this friend, author of the Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Expery to confirm that the wrekage found in the early 2000s was indeed the plane that he was flying in (and also to confirm that the friendship was a true one).
Task three: See what no public person has seen before- go the the Chauvet Cave and see the images crafted over 30,0000 years ago.
I really enjoyed the tasks and following Adam on his adventures through France. I loved the fact that this Canadian author made his protagonist American. It made it funnier and I loved how it kept refering back to Canadians in humourous ways.
The whole premise of the seven books is just such a brillant idea I keep thinking "why hasn't it been done before?!" The fact that its Canadian means even more to me.
The only reason I'm giving it four stars out of five is that it was just a little too unrealistic. Yes I know its suppose to be a mystery for boys and a little out there and all but I felt that Adam met too many nice Frenchmen who were more than willing to help him out when the reality would have been very different indeed.
I think what I liked the most about the book was the fact that it introduced me to parts and history of France that I knew very little of and now have a curiousity about. If this was the author's intent, he did a very good job of it.
The book has just enough adventure, mystery, action and even romance to keep any young teen or pre-teen boy hooked.
My first book in the series and looking forward to reading another!