Thursday, September 4, 2014

Review: The Disappearance of Lars Wellingsworth

Title: The Disappearance of Lars Wellingsworth
Author: Susan Srikant
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: August 9, 2014
Source: Paperback via Author in Exchange for an Honest Review
Age Range: Middle Grade
Everyone knows Lars Wellingsworth. He's the kid who lives in the mansion with the double towers and the locked iron gate. He's the kid who never gets to come outside. He's the kid who's missing.

Summer vacation at the grandparents' turns into a thriller for Jess and her brother, Conrad, when a local boy is kidnapped.

Step into your crime-solving shoes and piece together the clues in this entertaining, face-paced adventure.


 

 My Review


Imagine a simpler time. Summers. Lemonade. Lunches out on the front porch. Playing baseball with your friends. Staying outside until it's too dark. Just being a kid. For Jess and Conrad, they get to experience this part of life for two weeks every summer when they stay with their grandparents. Everything in town is simple and perfect until the richest kid in town is kidnapped.

I usually don't read middle grade, but I'm glad that Susan gave me the chance to read this book. I really enjoyed it. It is very well-written, and easy to follow. I'm sure that younger readers would be challenged and entertained.

The story-line is interesting. Who doesn't love a kidnapping story, right? And the characters are loveable. Each one of them has their own little quirk, and it makes for a well-rounded group of friends. I thought of them as a mix of the kids from The Sandlot and The Little Rascals with a little bit of Harriet the Spy thrown in.

Oh... and I loved that the kids entertain themselves without technology! I think that is one of the most important parts of the book, and Susan never really even makes a big deal of it. The gang of kids in this book are just kids. Kids will learn that there is a whole world out there if they just go outside.
 

I'll definitely have a copy of this book in my classroom if I ever teach middle school. 


2 comments :

  1. I love the cover! ♥ I don't know why but it is so... I love it! I don't usually read thrillers but this book sounds really interesting! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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    Replies
    1. I usually don't either, but when Susan emailed me, it seemed so interesting. It was good. The group of kids really made the book. And it was a really easy read.

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