limabean74's review
3.0
My Review:
Deadwood is a great book I feel for kids, it has a lot of stuff I think they would enjoy. It has mystery, magic and friendship. Reading it as an adult I had a few issues with the flow of the story. I sort of went all over the place and sometimes repeated the same stuff over again. I figured out the who did it part, close to the end, but I thought it was interesting. This isn’t a very long book so it’s a good story with cute characters. I did think Hannah was trying to be something she wasn’t and that sort of bothered me at times. The tree part of the book was informative and very different. I also thought when the story was ended it was wrapped up really nice with a cute happy ending.
I feel like this would be a great book for kids to enjoy but as an adult it might be a fun book to read. I would totally recommend to Middle Grade looking for something fun, quick and different.
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glanecia's review
4.0
This wasn't as awesome as I was hoping it would be, being a story about a tree and all (I love trees!); but I still really appreciated the tale.
nixwolfwood's review
4.0
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I could lie and tell you that I picked this book to review just to read to my son at bedtime, but I totally wanted to read it for myself. Although we both enjoyed it, there were parts of it that were a little scary for him. It's a story that's more for readers who are better able to separate fiction from reality.
As a gamer, I was quickly drawn into the story. The story opens with Martin, stuck living with one of his relatives because his mom has been deployed to Afghanistan, wishing he could be online playing a RPG with his friends. He's not even allowed to play so he, instead, pretends to be his character from the game.
Toward the beginning you discover that the spirit tree, called that because the jocks carve their school spirit into it every year, is actually magical. It communicates with Martin and another kid his age, Hannah, telling them there's a curse and they need to break it to heal the town.
The use of magic mixed with technology was interesting, as the spirit tree used text messages to communicate with the children. I also enjoyed when the focus of the story went to the tree, telling part of the story from it's perspective.
I highly recommend this book, and it's a wonderful read for middle graders.
4/5 Platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/deadwood-by-kell-andrews
I could lie and tell you that I picked this book to review just to read to my son at bedtime, but I totally wanted to read it for myself. Although we both enjoyed it, there were parts of it that were a little scary for him. It's a story that's more for readers who are better able to separate fiction from reality.
As a gamer, I was quickly drawn into the story. The story opens with Martin, stuck living with one of his relatives because his mom has been deployed to Afghanistan, wishing he could be online playing a RPG with his friends. He's not even allowed to play so he, instead, pretends to be his character from the game.
Toward the beginning you discover that the spirit tree, called that because the jocks carve their school spirit into it every year, is actually magical. It communicates with Martin and another kid his age, Hannah, telling them there's a curse and they need to break it to heal the town.
The use of magic mixed with technology was interesting, as the spirit tree used text messages to communicate with the children. I also enjoyed when the focus of the story went to the tree, telling part of the story from it's perspective.
I highly recommend this book, and it's a wonderful read for middle graders.
4/5 Platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/deadwood-by-kell-andrews
thebumblegirl's review
4.0
A fast-paced, enjoyable, contemporary fantasy that upper middle graders will truly enjoy!
Martin is a strong, determined teen who was sent to live with his mother's cousin while she's deployed. Martin does his best to stay out of his "Aunt" Michele's way, and tries to get by on her strict regimes of eating healthy and living life to their full "brain-power" potential. He's a runner and trains as often as he can, determined to complete any marathon as long as his mother can do it with him.
On his first run through Lower Brynwood aka Deadwood, he runs into a group of people performing a school ritual on a tree. He is angered that they've been damaging this poor tree for many years and tries to stop it - but what can one little teen do against a whole high school football team?
After they're done, Martin is left alone with the tree and meets Hannah. Hannah is a tomboyish girl who has lived in Lower Brynwood her whole life and knows all about the Spirit Tree and most of what happens in the town. While they're standing under the tree, an unexpected storm drops in and lightening hits the tree. While they stare at the tree and watch it light up from the inside, the carvings start to light up, letter by letter, delivering a message to them. An unbelievable scary message - the town is cursed.
Against their will, Martin and Hannah team up to figure out the Spirit Tree's message, why its dying? Why are there other trees in the town are dying too? Why is the town and its occupants are cursed?
The story is told from three different perspectives, Martin's, Hannah's and the Spirit Tree. Reading from the tree's perspective was extremely interesting, it gives insight to how a tree would view its surroundings and history. I really enjoyed that aspect a lot.
The perfect blend of relatable contemporary, supernatural elements, mystery and environmental awareness - an amazing middle grade book for all ages to read!
(I received this paperback from the publisher for an honest review.
My thoughts are my own.)
Martin is a strong, determined teen who was sent to live with his mother's cousin while she's deployed. Martin does his best to stay out of his "Aunt" Michele's way, and tries to get by on her strict regimes of eating healthy and living life to their full "brain-power" potential. He's a runner and trains as often as he can, determined to complete any marathon as long as his mother can do it with him.
On his first run through Lower Brynwood aka Deadwood, he runs into a group of people performing a school ritual on a tree. He is angered that they've been damaging this poor tree for many years and tries to stop it - but what can one little teen do against a whole high school football team?
After they're done, Martin is left alone with the tree and meets Hannah. Hannah is a tomboyish girl who has lived in Lower Brynwood her whole life and knows all about the Spirit Tree and most of what happens in the town. While they're standing under the tree, an unexpected storm drops in and lightening hits the tree. While they stare at the tree and watch it light up from the inside, the carvings start to light up, letter by letter, delivering a message to them. An unbelievable scary message - the town is cursed.
Against their will, Martin and Hannah team up to figure out the Spirit Tree's message, why its dying? Why are there other trees in the town are dying too? Why is the town and its occupants are cursed?
The story is told from three different perspectives, Martin's, Hannah's and the Spirit Tree. Reading from the tree's perspective was extremely interesting, it gives insight to how a tree would view its surroundings and history. I really enjoyed that aspect a lot.
The perfect blend of relatable contemporary, supernatural elements, mystery and environmental awareness - an amazing middle grade book for all ages to read!
(I received this paperback from the publisher for an honest review.
My thoughts are my own.)
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