A review by woffordleejones
Dog Days O' Summer by James Newman, Mark Allan Gunnells

3.0

A fun little summer read. I got a Stranger Things vibe (more ’90’s than ’80’s) mixed with a feel of an R.L.Stein’s Goosebumps story. The Cemetery Dance publication version that I was gifted was nicely packaged, but it had a drawn graphic in the front of the book that gave away the story. Also, in the dedication page, James Newton further mentioned the key element in this story…so going in there were no surprises (except one…I talk about that later on). I knew before reading why the teens wanted to to kill their teacher, Mr. Martinsen, (as hinted at in the synopsis page). There were clues as you went along to help you figure it out and I would’ve loved to have been able to figured this story out for myself, even if I happened to figure out the story early on. It would’ve been a much more enjoyable read. Also, my biggest complain in Dog Days ‘O Summer is that many times throughout the book there were small vignette chapters (a half a page at most) that explained exactly what was going to happen in the very next main chapter. To me this took the last of the enjoyment out of the read because the surprises were revealed before you actually were able to read and enjoy those reveals. I read a book to be surprised…to be awed…to solve the mystery of the story, etc. It would’ve been nice to be able to do so, rather than be spoon feed everything that happens before it happens. That being said, there was one huge twist during the Epilogue that did surprise me and I thank the authors for not giving away that huge bit of awesomeness I didn't see coming. That was pretty cool. All in all, it was a simplistic and fun read. Good for all ages but seemed geared for a younger audience.