Review by klbradley -- Will of The Hill by Marshall Cobb

[Kourtney Bradley]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Will of The Hill" by Marshall Cobb.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Will of the Hill is a modern-day children's comical fiction story written by Marshall Cobb. Published in November 2017 by Cerro Plano Press, the tale is a suitable read for middle school-aged children. At just over 100 Kindle edition pages, the story is broken up into chapters that can easily be read by children on their own. The main character in the story is Will Reese, a 5th grader who enjoys nothing more than reading comic books. Although it's known that he is intelligent, his parents and teachers seem to think it's his laziness that holds him back from reaching his full potential. Despite his devotion to his comic books, he has been warned multiple times to leave the comic books at home, therefore, he sneakily brings them to school and hides them in a stash in the bushes.

When Will's enemy at school, Gertrude, or Intrude, as several of the students refer to her, discovers his secret, she sets out on a mission to get him in trouble at any possible chance. With Gertrude's 12th birthday party coming up, she sets sail with a plan of blackmail on Will in order to get him to convince his best friend, Dillon, to attend the party. Because of Gertrude's reputation of being a tattle-tale at school, Will fears Dillon won't want to attend the party, which will lead to the destruction or confiscation of his beloved comic book collection.

Filled with entertaining child-like humor, which is still easily enjoyable by all ages, Will of the Hill includes cringe-worthy moments of embarrassment for Will. With the school described as being on a hill, much more like an impassable mountain, the specifications used are magnified for the imagination with inclusions of rockets on the school bus in order to reach the sky-high school location. With the foreseen lesson included at the end regarding the Golden Rule of treating others how you would like to be treated, the story offers a lesson that children will take away and remember long after reading the last page.

The language used throughout the story is relevant for children to read, but also includes words and phrasings that will stretch their vocabulary. The editing for the story is well-done, as to exclude any spelling and error mistakes that could confuse. The cover art for the story is also well suited for the story, as I pictured the scenery exactly as it's depicted.

I'm pleased to rate Will of the Hill 4 out of 4 stars and would willingly recommend it to young readers who are looking for adventure. Although my son has not quite reached middle school age yet, I felt like the story would be one he would enjoy, as well as being one which would benefit his views on how to treat others.

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Will of The Hill
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