Review of The Mystery of The Hillside Motel

[mrlefty0706]

"The Mystery of The Hillside Motel" by David Murray Anderson is a young adult novel about eight-year-old David and his adventure while the family stays at the Hillside Motel. He meets a girl named Teri and immediately becomes infatuated. Since he is too young to understand what love is, but he wants Teri to stay in his life forever. Teri is a very curious young girl that loves adventures so she sets off to discover any secrets about the motel and the area that surrounds the motel. With David being smitten with Teri it was easy for her to pull him into her adventures. One needs to read the book to learn about the adventures and what they find. The sample provided excellent detail about David’s family but ends before he meets Teri. This novel was written for young adults but it will be an enjoyable read for pre-teens, teenagers and adults. There is some romance but no sexual content, so parents should not be concerned about their pre-teens and teenagers reading it. I want to read the entire book to learn more about David’s blooming relationship, the paranormal happenings and the adventures David and Teri experience. I was surprised to read that the family makes this 19-hour drive to David’s grandparents’ house every year at the beginning of summer vacation. I really enjoyed how well the family interacted during the long car ride, especially the sing a long and the story David and his older brother Brody created from one sentence. I wish I knew about this game since I would have enjoyed playing it with my wife and two daughters when we traveled by car many years ago. I also liked the treasure trove of events and nostalgia that have occurred at Irvine elementary school over the past 50 years and I could sense the loss students were feeling when the demolition of the school was announced to the students. I recently learned that the elementary school I attended in Chicago had been demolished after 70 years of providing education for thousands of children. I suspect David is really the author much later in life and Teri is his wife. David provides a very vivid narration of this story. It made me fondly remember the girl I met on vacation in northern Wisconsin the summer before my sophomore year in high school. Due to a few inconsistencies the official reviewer gave the novel a 4 out of 5-star rating.

[Tars]

I am sorry to say, but the storyline of this book as it is described in the review is certainly not to my liking. I mean, it is not all that rare to see young kids "immediately smitten" by each other, which is especially adorable with toddlers, but the next part, "he knows that somehow this girl must stay in his life forever", is borderline obsession and quite disturbing, adding that the plot failed to intrigue me, and it is predictable that I will have to pass. Still, congrats on BOTD!

[Amy_Jackson]

I would love to read about Teri's and David's discoveries and adventures at the motel. I love that the book also has a touch of romance and the paranormal.

[Soma Ezenwanne]

I would like to read "The Mystery of The Hillside Motel" by David Murray Anderson because the adventure sounds fun and mysterious and I’m also interested in how David and Teri’s friendship grows.