Review by Sahani Nimandra -- Will of The Hill

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 14 Nov 2018, 00:04

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

4 out of 4 stars

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It's truly universally acknowledged that parents always wish to provide the best for their kids. However, their proper upbringing impacts the parents and society in more ways than one can imagine. Will of The Hill is a read that contributes to this very cause of proper upbringing. The author, Marshall Cobs, offers an outstanding read that parents would dare refuse. He had composed this 107 pages together to bring forth the learning-with-fun concept.

This read is more appropriate to kids between the age group of 8- to 12-year-old. It's the first book introduced by Marshall Cobs which ends on a cliffhanger. This read consists of 11 chapters in total, is an exceptional read, which I read it all in one sitting. The environmental visualization provided by the author focuses on a countryside community with access to a local school situated on top of a hill.

I wish to know your opinion! What do you think if you provide a book, to your kids, that reflects on true events in life? On this point, I wish to advise the parents to read this book with their kids. There are so many lessons taught, but what describes the best about this read is the beautiful friendship between Will, our protagonist, and Dillon, his best friend, mentioned below:

“Intrude is blackmailing me; she’s got my bag of Edgar comics that I’d stashed under the hedge, and she’s going to give them to Ms. Early unless I get you to go to her birthday party.”
Dillon stared at him like he was an alien on this planet. “You let Intrude mess with you? Intrude?”
“You don’t get it! You never get in trouble. No one’s ever after you. When she tells Ms. Early about the comic book stash, I’ll be scraping gum and boogers for the rest of the year. My mom will take all of my comics away. You won’t be able to come over and…”
“I’ll go to Ms. Early and tell her the comics are mine,” Dillon said, “Ms. Early wouldn’t believe you, but she’ll believe me. You may be smarter than me, but I get away with everything.”
“But Intrude said, "you couldn’t know." She’ll be able to tell, and I never get away with anything.”
Dillon threw his arm around Will’s shoulder. “You let me handle Intrude, and we’ll see who gets away with what.”

What interests me the most is the author's reflections about the different circumstances that children encounter, and the unique personalities given to his characters. Marshall Cobs has this unique talent to give life to his characters: from the silent boy, Will, to the bully named Gertrude, Intrude. This read provides an excellent visualization, such as,

"...Ms. Early’s odd appearance. It wasn’t that her head was actually big. In fact, the blossom of bountiful, blonde hair that extended in just about every direction from her head seemed like a deliberate attempt to make up for the fact that her actual head was really quite small. She was like a male lion—all hair with a tiny, frowning face." (P.5).

The author displays the perfect reflection of a mindset of a 10-year-old. He expresses the difficulty of a young mind trying to distinguish the age definition for adulthood. He also remarks on how young boys' view on puberty which was humorous:

"He was in no hurry to go through puberty, which, as far as he could tell just meant he would get hairy and smelly, and begin liking girls. Yech!" (P.16).

The author uses a character like Gertrude to bring out the concerns that parents may have about how self-conscious their children may be, especially about their appearance, at such a tender age. Marshall Cobs display how young kids look up to their parents, and how their influence shapes their kids' thinking.

He is very expressive in his work: through his characters, the author is very skillful to bring-out meaningful advise. Through Dillon, the importance of having great friends. Through Gertrude, the fate that leads to spoiling your only child, and most importantly, not to raise a bully. Through Will, our protagonist, one needs to learn to be strong to one's self, and most importantly, have faith in friendship.

I did experience intense moments in this read. At times, I felt the pressure that Will faced been subjected to bullying by his classmate. I clearly enjoyed this read to my heart's content. I felt bad when the story ended abruptly. This read reminded me of a book series called Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

I believe graphic illustrations, related to the author's characters, would be an ideal value addition to this read, especially to attract young readers. I noted a lot of punctuation errors, and it was interesting to note this,

"to my bride: thank you for helping me to understand that while I don’t care about commas, others might."

I believe another round of proofreading will help, but I don't wish to hold this mistake as a big issue. This read maintains a perfect standard, and for this reason, I wish to rate this read 4 out of 4 stars; it's truly a beautiful read that I don't mind waiting for its next book.

******
Will of The Hill
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

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Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 15 Nov 2018, 02:00

Thanks for this comprehensive review. I like the lessons on the characters we shape our children to develop. Great review!

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 15 Nov 2018, 02:19

Cotwani wrote: ↑15 Nov 2018, 02:00 Thanks for this comprehensive review. I like the lessons on the characters we shape our children to develop. Great review!

Thank you so much for commenting!

Jgideon · Post by **Jgideon** » 15 Nov 2018, 03:18

Parenting is quite challenging. Parents will really appreciate the content of the book as they seek to find new ways of bringing up their children. Nice review.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 15 Nov 2018, 03:36

Jgideon wrote: ↑15 Nov 2018, 03:18 Parenting is quite challenging. Parents will really appreciate the content of the book as they seek to find new ways of bringing up their children. Nice review.

Thank you for commenting!

Sunnyroyish · Post by **Sunnyroyish** » 15 Nov 2018, 04:15

No doubt this a great book. I enjoyed it too. Though I couldn't find any punctuation errors because i'm really bad at punctuation. Time to read some grammar and punctuation books. Nice review.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 15 Nov 2018, 04:49

Sunnyroyish wrote: ↑15 Nov 2018, 04:15 No doubt this a great book. I enjoyed it too. Though I couldn't find any punctuation errors because i'm really bad at punctuation. Time to read some grammar and punctuation books. Nice review.

Hehe! Thank you for commenting!

LV2R · Post by **LV2R** » 15 Nov 2018, 05:35

The book sounds so cute and funny. The topics of bullying,friendships, and growing up are all great ones to cover in this story of a school on a hill. I enjoyed reading your review and the quotes from the book.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 15 Nov 2018, 09:06

LV2R wrote: ↑15 Nov 2018, 05:35 The book sounds so cute and funny. The topics of bullying,friendships, and growing up are all great ones to cover in this story of a school on a hill. I enjoyed reading your review and the quotes from the book.

I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Thank you for commenting!

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 16 Nov 2018, 00:46

Nice review. I had thought that the book was all about parenting. Nice to see that the author was able to bring out some issues that rea important such as meaningful friendships. I would like to read this. It must be fascinating given that you read it in one sitting.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 16 Nov 2018, 00:56

Kibetious wrote: ↑16 Nov 2018, 00:46 Nice review. I had thought that the book was all about parenting. Nice to see that the author was able to bring out some issues that rea important such as meaningful friendships. I would like to read this. It must be fascinating given that you read it in one sitting.

Actually, it was. I was so excited about this read that I did finish reading it in one sitting. I'm sure that you too will be smitten by this read. Thank you for commenting!

Espie · Post by **Espie** » 18 Nov 2018, 00:19

I've always known something even when I was young, but I truly came to know its meaning only when I became a mum. "It's always easier than done." This is why I'm compelled to truthfully tell my kids to do as I say and not what I do so that they'be spared from the consequences of making the same mistakes I (or others) make. In the case of bullying, I think it's better to not do what we don't want others to do unto us; we should do what we want others to do so, too. What's ideal and what's happening aren't exactly the same always as well. People's perspectives on solutions vary, too. Nonetheless, thank you for your encompassing review.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 18 Nov 2018, 00:52

Espie wrote: ↑18 Nov 2018, 00:19 I've always known something even when I was young, but I truly came to know its meaning only when I became a mum. "It's always easier than done." This is why I'm compelled to truthfully tell my kids to do as I say and not what I do so that they'be spared from the consequences of making the same mistakes I (or others) make. In the case of bullying, I think it's better to not do what we don't want others to do unto us; we should do what we want others to do so, too. What's ideal and what's happening aren't exactly the same always as well. People's perspectives on solutions vary, too. Nonetheless, thank you for your encompassing review.

Thank you so much, dear! I'm not a mother so I really don't no about that, but all I know is that children learn from their parents.

fernsmom · Post by **fernsmom** » 18 Nov 2018, 22:33

Great review (like always!)
Seems like a really good book, and may help children learn some things as well. My daughter is too old to read this to, or with. But, it sounds like I may actually enjoy it anyway.