Monday, July 16, 2007


A Boy Scout Adventure: Solving the mystery of the Marfa Lights



Folks shopping for young adult literature without lewd content may want to give THE GHOST OF MOUNT CHINATI a try. This short, innocent novel reads like a Saturday Afternoon Special on PBS. It is an old-fashioned story, reminiscent of that nostalgic Leave it to Beaver and Lassie fare from decades past.

The main character, Corbie Ransom, has an unusual name. But he is an unusual kid, too. Corbie is a Boy Scout—an exceptional Scout at that—relocating to West Texas from California. He makes new friends and a few enemies as well. The events that follow are confined to a handful of simple, stereotypical characters, who talk in stilted speech. Reading this as an adult, it seems unrealistic, but I think younger readers will care more about whether the plot moves along than whether the characters talk in contemporary slang.

LeCroy holds the reader’s interest well in this book. Any boring, dead parts have been edited out, leaving a lean story. A surprise twist ending wraps it up into a neat package, but still leaves tidbits here and there for the reader to ponder on. This book is not really about ghosts. But it is a satisfying little adventure, worth the read.


Visit the the publisher's website for the book's description.

2 comments:

Matthew said...

That sounds like a cool book. Surprise endings are always good because they make the book better.

B C Justice said...

I think you would like it. It's available from Amazon. I met the author online via my self-publishing list, and that's how I found out about the book. He reviewed my Violent Night book on BarnesandNoble.com.
-B.C.