SUMMER READING: A few chills to beat the heat...

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the place to be as the days of summer begin to number themselves as they pass by in a blur! 

QUICK REMINDER…don’t miss your chance to be immortalized with the MONSTER NINJAS competition!  Author Ryan J Jacobson’s latest endeavor is a fun-tastic online comic (check it out for yourself…just click HERE!)…and your comment (on the contest post) will gain you entry to be drawn in as a ZOMBIE in one of the upcoming panes.  Open INTERNATIONALLY; ends 07/26/12.  Spread the word (please?)!  Now, back to today’s fun…

It may not feel like it temperature wise out but the days of summer are slowly marching by as they make their way to the inevitable end…the beginning of the school year.  Aaaahhhhhh!  Just kidding, I actually LIKED school….weird, I know (and OWNING it!).  ^_^  Ask any child and I’m certain they can tell you without fail the EXACT number of days left, just as the two kids featured in today’s story could.  For them, it’s the last day of summer vacation and they were on a mission to make it a day to remember…oh, they’ll remember it alright, just not how they pictured it.  *gulp*  Ready to put a little scare into your summer reading?  Here we go!  Today’s book of choice is…

The “Old” Adventures of Hailey and Jared:

Old Jacob

By

Bon Rose

From the author’s site…

“…The copper smell was overwhelming, then it hit me, blood smelled like copper. Behind me I heard a crazy high-pitched laugh...”

It was the last day of summer before school started. Hailey and her best friend Jared wanted it to be a day to be remembered but when they went on their new adventure to Old Jacob's mine it ended up being a day they would want to forget!

Even though Hailey is a girl, you'd have to call her a tomboy as she loves adventures with her best friend Jared and has no problem getting in and out of spooky situations! She, Jared and her beloved bike Blue manage to keep their lives pretty exciting and sometimes they are not sure whether it's ghosts or just their imagination. You'll just have to decide which one it ends up being!

From the Author Warning: My short stories are for children and the young at heart. If you're too old to remember your childhood, these aren't for you! (:

Gotta say it, first off….I LOVE the author’s “warning” there; it certainly kicks things off with a smile.  Now as for the story, it is certainly a quick read (at about 8 printed pages) but an adventurous one nonetheless.  Hailey and Jared are quite the duo; she with her tom boyish ways and he with a penchant for being a scaredy pants, but together they are unstoppable….well, sorta.  I mean if you went to an abandoned mine only to lose your way in the pitch blackness and be chased by …SOMETHING…it’d be hard NOT to pause, you know?  *deep breath…imagines open space*  For anyone that has a tendency towards claustrophobia, you’ll still make it out of this tale intact although its doubtful you’ll be following in their footsteps any time soon.  *-*

When you embark on a tale as short as this, it’s hard not to have a few reservations; especially if you’re like me and prefer a full length book…what can I say?  I like to get to know my characters through and through.  The big surprise here?  The author manages to introduce us well enough to our leads as well as the legend they’re exploring without losing any face time for the present events.  Don’t believe me?  Look at all we know!  Hailey prefers bike riding and hiking to tea time and dolls and calls her bike “Blue”.  Jared has an older brother that loves to tease him, considers Hailey his best friend and isn’t afraid to take the lead, so long as he’s ushered into it (hehe).  Old Jacob was a miner who…let’s just say met an unfavorable end.  See?  Pretty cool for less than 8 pages…

In summary, a tale perfect for middle grade readers and beyond that will inject a little spooky fun into your summer reading rotation.  Set your sites on adventure as you join Hailey and Jared in the first of their recorded escapades….who knows?  It might just inspire the explorer in you to uncover the truth behind an urban myth or haunted location in your area; as for me, I think I’ll stick to exploring the text…. *-*

Ebook for review courtesy of author Bon Rose (pen name!).  (THANKS!)  For more information about the author as well as her further works, feel free to visit her online, check out her blog, like her on Facebook or follow along on Twitter.  To score a copy of this ebook to call your own, visit Smashwords or Amazon where it can be downloaded FREE for a limited time….and her other works are available for a song and a dance (okay, not really a song and dance, but they are priced pretty darn close to that!).

Until next time….happy reading!