Review of SandPeople
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Review of SandPeople
[Following is a volunteer review of "SandPeople" by Cheryl Kerr.]
SandPeople by Cheryl Kerr is a middle-grade novel following the adventures of Lea McKinney as she spends an exciting summer with her estranged aunt. After hearing that her parents are getting divorced, heartbroken Lea is sent to stay for the summer with her Aunt Meg, a no-nonsense artist living alone in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. Lea can’t imagine that a fun summer is ahead, as she’s left her best friend and everything she knows behind in Virginia. However, one day while on the beach, Lea sees a lone girl who disappears suddenly and leaves little sand people in her wake. While brooding about this mystery, Lea meets a new friend named Teri, and together, they go on a search to find the truth about the mysterious girl on the beach.
This book was a fun read! Though the plot was enjoyable for me to read now, I know that I would have fallen in love with it when I was younger. This is a great heartfelt, adventurous book for the target audience. It’s an easy read, but still meaningful and poignant. I give it three out of four stars.
There are only a few minor things that kept my rating from being a full four stars. First of all, the ending felt anticlimactic. The book did a great job at building tension and excitement, but in the end, everything seemed to end too quickly and neatly. I was left wanting to know so much more about Greta, the mystery girl. One small chapter was dedicated to her point of view, as well as a couple of diary entries, and I was expecting to hear a lot more from her throughout the book. Another thing that I think could have been improved was the dialogue, which sounded a little robotic at times. Also, the author occasionally wrote out chunks of dialogue in a confusing way. A character would speak, there would be a paragraph break, and then the same character would speak again immediately. This sometimes made it unclear as to who was talking at certain points, and I imagine it would be even more confusing for a younger reader.
I’m happy to say, however, that there were many more positive aspects of this book than negative! The overall writing style was riveting and beautiful. I could picture the setting of the Gulf of Mexico very clearly in my head the entire time. The author did a great job of describing Lea’s feelings and showing her growth throughout the book. The tone of mystery worked really well and kept me guessing at what would happen next. I liked how while a good portion of the mystery was supernatural, it was also based on real history. Another great aspect of the story was seeing the development of the relationship between Lea and Aunt Meg. It was truly heartwarming to see how they both came to appreciate and support each other.
Overall, this was a captivating book with great characters and a unique, immersive setting. I would recommend it especially to younger readers around 10-12 years old, though really, the story would be enjoyable for any age. It is, in a word, timeless!
******
SandPeople
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
SandPeople by Cheryl Kerr is a middle-grade novel following the adventures of Lea McKinney as she spends an exciting summer with her estranged aunt. After hearing that her parents are getting divorced, heartbroken Lea is sent to stay for the summer with her Aunt Meg, a no-nonsense artist living alone in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. Lea can’t imagine that a fun summer is ahead, as she’s left her best friend and everything she knows behind in Virginia. However, one day while on the beach, Lea sees a lone girl who disappears suddenly and leaves little sand people in her wake. While brooding about this mystery, Lea meets a new friend named Teri, and together, they go on a search to find the truth about the mysterious girl on the beach.
This book was a fun read! Though the plot was enjoyable for me to read now, I know that I would have fallen in love with it when I was younger. This is a great heartfelt, adventurous book for the target audience. It’s an easy read, but still meaningful and poignant. I give it three out of four stars.
There are only a few minor things that kept my rating from being a full four stars. First of all, the ending felt anticlimactic. The book did a great job at building tension and excitement, but in the end, everything seemed to end too quickly and neatly. I was left wanting to know so much more about Greta, the mystery girl. One small chapter was dedicated to her point of view, as well as a couple of diary entries, and I was expecting to hear a lot more from her throughout the book. Another thing that I think could have been improved was the dialogue, which sounded a little robotic at times. Also, the author occasionally wrote out chunks of dialogue in a confusing way. A character would speak, there would be a paragraph break, and then the same character would speak again immediately. This sometimes made it unclear as to who was talking at certain points, and I imagine it would be even more confusing for a younger reader.
I’m happy to say, however, that there were many more positive aspects of this book than negative! The overall writing style was riveting and beautiful. I could picture the setting of the Gulf of Mexico very clearly in my head the entire time. The author did a great job of describing Lea’s feelings and showing her growth throughout the book. The tone of mystery worked really well and kept me guessing at what would happen next. I liked how while a good portion of the mystery was supernatural, it was also based on real history. Another great aspect of the story was seeing the development of the relationship between Lea and Aunt Meg. It was truly heartwarming to see how they both came to appreciate and support each other.
Overall, this was a captivating book with great characters and a unique, immersive setting. I would recommend it especially to younger readers around 10-12 years old, though really, the story would be enjoyable for any age. It is, in a word, timeless!
******
SandPeople
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader." --Robert Frost
Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman
