Review of Sneaky Pete's Big Adventure

[Diana Lowery]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sneaky Pete's Big Adventure" by Bob Combs.]

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1 out of 5 stars

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Sneaky Pete has been raised by his older brother ever since their parents disappeared when Pete was young. Marvin owns a store called the Wiggly Pig, and Pete helps his brother out at the store, but he is always looking for a chance for a big adventure. Finally, the day arrives and Pete gets his wish, but not without a lot of trouble while he tries to retrieve a gold coin. Thankfully, Marvin is able to keep Pete out of danger most of the time, and both of them learn a valuable lesson.

I​n the preface to Sneaky Pete's Big Adventure, Bob Combs makes this statement, "I am a storyteller, not a story writer." He then asks his readers to endure reading his tale. Endure is what I had to do while reading this 38-page book.

F​irst, this short book has too many errors, which is especially unforgiving in a children's book. In addition to the grammar errors, there are multiple errors in the storyline. For instance, the hawk snatched the gold coin from Grubby, but Grubby had already tossed it to Marvin and no longer had the coin in his possession.

O​ther problems are that the narration shifts from first to third and sometimes even to second person. Also, there are too many unbelievable coincidences. They start with the slip of paper on the stairs with the safe combination conveniently written down.

F​inally, there is an anachronism because the plot describes things like fast scooters, gyrocopters, and Bluetooth devices, but there is a character, Mrs. Smith, the town gossip, who gets her information from being a telephone operator listening to phone conversations.

T​he author was encouraged to publish his book by his family because his grandchildren enjoyed hearing the story so much. I am confident that Combs is a very animated storyteller and is able to bring life to this story. The premise is cute, and I could see this making sense as an animated series. However, due to so many problems, I cannot recommend this book to anyone, and my rating is one out of five stars.

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Sneaky Pete's Big Adventure
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[Joy Enny]

I really hope the book gets revised. The plot seems to be an interesting one.

[Kigen Valarie]

I understand your criticism of this book. Sometimes it's frustrating to read a book with many errors and a storyline that doesn't balance. I would read the book if another version is produced though.