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Friday, March 30, 2012

Review and Giveaway - Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Summer Vacation Sea Monster



Written by: L.P. Chase
Illustrated by: Carl DiRocco

From the back cover:

Elliot Stone's Summer is ruined! not only will he be away from his best friend Jake, but he'll have to miss Cassie's graduation party of the century while he spends an entire month in a Vermont cabin on Lake Bomoseen. After Elliot's dad shares the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, a month at the lake suddenly doesn't seem so boring. The situation quickly escalates as Elliot encounters a strange sighting in the lake. But when he meets Marley, the totally cute girl next door, they embark on a mission he hadn't quite planned on.

My thoughts:

It was after I finished reading the book that I discovered L.P. Chase has written several other Elliot Stone novels, so readers may already be familiar with the cast of characters. This was my first foray into Elliot's world, and I thought it was an overall success.

The writing is nice, the story has a good pace, the characters are interesting, and the setting took me back to happy camping memories. I've always been a big fan of mysteries, so seeing the twists and turns of a puzzle for this age-group makes me happy, and I think readers will enjoy the Loch Ness references and sleuthing.

The mom side of me prickled a bit when the story opened with Elliot griping about missing a party because he was going on the annual family vacation, something he usually looks forward to every summer. I know kids can have attitudes - I have three boys after all - ha! - but I was immediately distanced by Elliot's complaining. (Admittedly, I can't say a kid would feel the same way. ;) I am happy to report that things cleared up rather quickly after that, and Elliot proved to be a relatable character after all.

Finally, a word about the illustrations. I loved them! And so did my just-beginning-to-read son. He was immediately drawn to the cover and interested in the story. Job well done!

While Elliot's adventures are solidly middle-grade, this book falls on the younger end of the spectrum. I think a reader making the transition from chapter books to middle grade fare would find Elliot's adventures a nice addition to his or her library.

Thanks so much to Blue Marlin Publications for sending me a copy of the book!

Enter to win a copy of Elliot Stone, follow Team Mayhem and leave a comment telling us a favorite camping memory (or book)!

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13 comments:

  1. Akoss3/30/12, 1:59 AM

    I think KATIE KAZOO -camp rules- is the only MG I remember reading that involved camping. :)
    Camping where I come from is usually church related and my parents never trusted me enough to let me go. Lol

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  2. Matthew MacNish3/30/12, 6:29 AM

    This sounds like lots of fun. But is our background entirely gone? Or is it just my browser?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hilary Wagner3/30/12, 9:24 AM

      It's your browser! ;)

      Delete
    2. Paul Greci3/30/12, 9:56 AM

      The first time I clicked on the post, the background was entirely white. The second time, the background was there. Very blogsterious, or mysterious.. :-0

      Delete
    3. Hilary Wagner3/30/12, 10:01 AM

      MATT BROKE OUR BLOG! ;)

      Delete
    4. Matthew MacNish3/30/12, 10:04 AM

      NO!!! It was Google. I swear.

      Delete
    5. Paul Greci3/30/12, 10:22 AM

      There is a force operating here that is bigger than our blog. Big Browser is watching. :-0

      Delete
    6. Matthew MacNish3/30/12, 10:24 AM

      May the Force be with us, and the odds ever in our favor.

      Delete
  3. Connie B. Dowell3/30/12, 9:23 AM

    Sounds like a cute book!
    I didn't do camping as a kid either, but I do have a hiking memory. When my dad first took my sister and I hiking up a mountain (a tamer Ozark mountain, not like those crazy tall mountains in the Rockies) we got tired and started complaining and complaining. My dad told us just to hang on and we'd be glad once we got to the top. He was right! The view was incredible. After we got back to the car I said, "Let's do that again!"

    P.S.: I'm a follower on RSS feed. Does that count?

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  4. Hilary Wagner3/30/12, 9:25 AM

    This looks so cute! We are the middle-grade giveaway kings this week! So cool! Go Project Mayhem and Elliot Stone! :)

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  5. Paul Greci3/30/12, 9:57 AM

    This looks like a fun read. Thanks for sharing it.

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  6. Brenda4/5/12, 3:16 PM

    What a cute cover, looks like a fun story too. I remember lots of hikes in the forest as a child, which at the time me and my siblings were all " are we done yet?". Now, I actually enjoy hikes and love looking at the sceneary.

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  7. Marissa Burt4/9/12, 3:08 PM

    Silly me! I forgot to put an END DATE on the contest. Oops! I'm declaring it officially over, and via random.org's magic, #1, AKOSS, is the winner. Akoss, I'll shoot you an e-mail to get your contact info. Thanks everyone!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for adding to the mayhem!