OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Ballad of Sidney Hill" by Khali Raymond.]

The Ballad of Sidney Hill is a YA novel written by Khali Raymond. The Ballad of Sidney Hill is told by eighteen year old Sidney Hill. Sid is a young man disillusioned with the world around him. Sid has found solace in a home and neighborhood where he feels safe and secure. However, Sidney and his family is one day uprooted from their beautiful, suburban home in Flagda, Florida. Where they end up is very disconcerting and changes Sid and his family’s life forever. The city of Badland, Pennsylvania is similar to an inner city ghetto. The air is putrid, the crime rate is very high and thugs have taken over the city. Disenchanted with law officials, Sid feels the need to take the law into his own hands to protect himself and his family.

The time is one where industrialization was in full bloom and homes and towns were being destroyed in the name of progress. Young Sidney is angry and fearful of the direction in which his life has taken. Yet, he finds a way to survive; rejuvenating old relationships and finding comfort in new, unexpected friendships helps Sid adjust to his new environment. The events that unfold during Sid’s journey through Pennsylvania’s toughest streets will test his will and endurance. Sid’s resilience proves that good can prevail over evil. However, will his family be able to sustain the trials and tribulations brought on by this new life they had to endure?

This novel gives the reader an insight into the violence of inner city living in Badland, Pennsylvania in 2013. Also, it makes the reader question their own belief system and the concept of right and wrong. The Ballad of Sidney Hill is definitely not for the faint of heart. The novel is geared toward young adults; it is also for those who enjoy action-filled adventure. However, anyone can enjoy this book.

What made this story even more amazing is that it was written by a sixteen year old young adult. It took a lot of insight and maturity to write this novel. What Khali Raymond did was make the reader feel as if he actually lived the story himself. In the same way, while reading the story, I felt as if I was indeed in Badland, Pennsylvania in the year of 2013. To be able to make the reader feel this way shows the author’s skill and talent.

I thoroughly enjoyed Raymond’s The Ballad of Sidney Hill. The characters were very complex yet believable. Sid’s mother was an aging woman who shopped excessively to gain her husband’s attention. Also, she tried to achieve a level of normalcy for her family as best she could. Sid’s father was a hard worker who provided for his family to the best of his abilities. Seth, Sid’s older brother gives the right amount of sibling rivalry which lightened up the story a bit and even made one chuckle at times. Similarly, Sid’s love interest Cat brought another twist to the plot as well. I felt really attached to all of the characters and wanted to see them triumph. This fictional depiction of life in Badland, Pennsylvania was gripping, and very exhilarating up until the final climactic end.

This novel gets 2 out of 4 stars! I really wanted to give the book 4 stars because I enjoyed it immensely. However, there were too many typos and errors that took away from my reading experience. The novel contained several grammatical errors that distract the reader from the story itself. In addition, the last few chapters felt rushed. It’s as if the author was trying to bring the story to its conclusion in a couple of short chapters. However, I must point out that I appreciated the subtitles that kept the reader updated on special times and events as they occurred. Still, a few more chapters were needed in order to thoroughly come to a satisfactory ending. In this way, the reader wouldn’t leave with so many unanswered questions. Perhaps the author did it intentionally with a sequel in mind. Nevertheless, it was still a very fast-moving, thought provoking story that anyone would enjoy.

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Thank you very much for the review, I really appreciated it. I know my book still has many of its errors, I will release maybe a fourth edition in the future and get my book proofread.

Great review! And the story-line sounds amazing. I look forward to the new edition coming out! *adds to reading list* And very impressive especially coming from such a young author. Kudos.

khaliofficial wrote:Thank you very much for the review, I really appreciated it. I know my book still has many of its errors, I will release maybe a fourth edition in the future and get my book proofread.

You are welcome. Having your book proofread will only enhance the quality of it. You are a very skillful and talented writer. Keep up the good work.

-- 30 Dec 2014, 01:43 --

Skillian wrote:Great review! And the story-line sounds amazing. I look forward to the new edition coming out! *adds to reading list* And very impressive especially coming from such a young author. Kudos.

Thank you, and yes the storyline is amazing.

By the way, the fourth edition has been released. Will be making another review request to hopefully get another rating on that. Hopefully one in the 3-4 star range.

Sounds exciting, Khali. I am really happy for you. Congratulations! I can't wait to read it.

Its up on Lulu if you want to check it out. I tried submitting the epub file for review request, but they're saying its an error. Ugh..

-- 17 Jan 2015, 23:18 --

UPDATE: It'll be another two weeks before my request is live. My updated version needs to be processed with other retail distributors, so i look forward to hopefully a better review. I had left in one error of my book, but it's not that major. I fixed punctuation, dialogue errors, etc. I'll look into my book more and if they are any other errors, gladly i will fix them.

Congratulations, you must be so excited! I really do wish you best.

Very nice review TammyO. After reading your critique of this book I find myself quite interested in reading it.

One observation I could perhaps make is that the errors you mention, and I realize they were unintentional on the part of the author, HAD they in fact been intentional, might have lent a dimension of realism to the writing ... i.e. most 16 year olds do not speak, spell or use perfect grammar in their everyday lives (most adults don't either for that matter *LOL*), therefore by having the book narrated in first person point of view would allow the errors to lend credence to the "voice" of the narrator. Of course this gets tricky to pull off with believability; for instance, the author might have begun the book with something like, (errors deliberate) "I'm writing these thoughts down now 'cause I doan't want to ever forget them including the small stuff, maybe what youd call the details."

If you remember the opening of Huckleberry Finn Twain did this and it worked very well.

YOU don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly -- Tom's Aunt Polly, she is -- and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before. - Opening paragraph of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Once again ... very nice job with the review!

Yeah, piggybacking of what DATo said, some errors you seen in fact was intentional in a way, except with missing words or things in the wrong places (I fixed this in the fourth edition). I still left some knacks in from the previous edition but its not drastic. I mean most of the narration and dialogue is in my voice, so its how I talk at times but its my style of speaking, not the fact that I made these errors to be dumb and he is right, most people do not use proper grammar. I will put the review request in, hopefully you'll be welcome to read it once more, maybe discover something new and realize my style of writing. Aiming for maybe a 3 star review this time lol.

-- 01 Feb 2015, 10:03 --

UPDATE: The request is live. But choose the 4th Edition title instead of the Fourth Edition one. The one has the "4th Edition" inside of the title is updated with correct links and such. The Fourth Edition isn't so I don't want nobody reviewing two of the same book. Is there any way I can get a review request taken down?

khaliofficial wrote:Yeah, piggybacking of what DATo said, some errors you seen in fact was intentional in a way, except with missing words or things in the wrong places (I fixed this in the fourth edition). I still left some knacks in from the previous edition but its not drastic. I mean most of the narration and dialogue is in my voice, so its how I talk at times but its my style of speaking, not the fact that I made these errors to be dumb and he is right, most people do not use proper grammar. I will put the review request in, hopefully you'll be welcome to read it once more, maybe discover something new and realize my style of writing. Aiming for maybe a 3 star review this time lol.

-- 01 Feb 2015, 10:03 --

UPDATE: The request is live. But choose the 4th Edition title instead of the Fourth Edition one. The one has the "4th Edition" inside of the title is updated with correct links and such. The Fourth Edition isn't so I don't want nobody reviewing two of the same book. Is there any way I can get a review request taken down?

You can do that by sending Scott a message about it or reporting it here:

Contact Scott

@ Khali. Yes, Khali. Scott should be able to take care of that for you. Just let him know which version you'd prefer he display. Good Luck!

@ DATo Yes. I do not disagree with you at all. Who would have thought "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" would have been such a profound book; in Twain's day and in the present day. Dialogue used in a book is very important indeed and if it is used correctly, It can make the book more interesting and appealing in many ways.

Dialogue in this book was used in great detail. I really do hope that the author didn't take all of it out because I actually understood why it was used. I can't wait to read the revised edition! (4th Edition). It should be really good. I hope Khali got a great editor. If done correctly, this book has great potential...

Nice Review. This sounds really interesting. It's great that the author has revised it. A few errors may be acceptable. When it becomes too distracting it really ruins the book for me.

I agree with you. My first rule before I do anything is to proofread .. proofread...proofread. I don't care how great or amazing a book's plot may be, if the errors are substantial, it really takes away from the entire reading experience. Of course, even when you do proofread and edit, there is a chance that one may still leave a few, minor mistakes. This I can definitely understand because no one is perfect.

That being said, I'm so glad that this author took my suggestions and improved on this novel.

Nice review. Amazing that it was written by such a young person.