Review of Will of The Hill

[Neha Panikar]

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

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4 out of 5 stars

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Will of the Hill by Marshall Cobb is a book for children that describes the life of a ten-year-old boy named Will, who is an easygoing and low-maintenance kid. He just wants to be left alone to read his comic books, hang out with his best friend, Dillon and dreads having to deal with his impending puberty and interaction with girls. He is a typical average kid who is happy being ignored and wants to stay under the radar. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen as he is under the constant attention of the school tattler, Gertrude. To make matters worse, he has an unfavorable reputation preceding him that does him no favors in the eyes of his teacher, Ms. Early. This frequently lands him in trouble with never-ending punishments of scraping boogers from underneath school desks. Will tolerates it all with resilience, but the tipping point comes when he is blackmailed by Gertrude to make Dillon go to her birthday party, or else his hidden stash of comic books in school will be revealed. This has the result of not just the comic books being confiscated but also potentially scraping boogers for his lifetime in school.
Why is Gertrude doing this? Can Dillon help Will fight all odds and beat Gertrude at her own game? Read this book to find out.

The book is evenly paced, with a good dose of humor that keeps the reader entertained. The character description is also well explained, which creates a vivid image of the person/thing in the reader's mind. I also liked how creatively a strange thing (or person) was nicknamed in the book. The antagonist, Gertrude, for example, is nicknamed "Intrude" thanks to her interference in everyone's business and tattle-tale habits. Similarly, defective lunch boxes (that were square-shaped) were used in school baseball games and nicknamed "Frankenballs" to describe their horrendous looks before and after the game. I found this to be very creative and apt. Additionally, I loved the comic incidents and characters combined with the sarcastic humor contained in the narrative of this book. I had a laugh-out-loud moment at the end of the second-to-last chapter. This is commendable, as I believe it's not easy to make an audience laugh in/while reading prose. The description of the events and the comic timing was flawless.

The only thing that let me down was the lack of pictures and illustrations in this book. The story lends a lot to the imagination, so I wonder why the author didn't consider including them. I believe this would limit the wide(r) appeal of the book on children younger than ten years old and those who are beginners to reading. Pictures and illustrations are a huge incentive and motivation for kids to read books, and this being meant for children misses out on an important trait, in my opinion.
Apart from this, there was nothing else I disliked about the book.

I found only one minor spelling error, so the book is professionally edited.

The book was an enjoyable read and would be more so if it had pictures and illustrations. This would be my reason for a point deduction in the rating. I therefore give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

There is neither sexual/adult content, nor does it contain any profanity, making this appropriate for children.
I would look forward to reading the next installment in the series to see if it uncovers any mysteries about the hill and debunks any of the speculated conspiracy theories surrounding it.

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Will of The Hill
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Amy Luman]

Do you think that perhaps because the prose lends itself so well to the imagination the author intentionally left out illustrations in order to keep the reader using theirs? I am in favor of anything that gets kids reading and keeps them interested for life, though. Thanks!

[Seetha E]

I recently read and reviewed this book. I share your opinion about illustrations. Amy too has a point. I too felt the cover gave the feelers of a book with some illustrations. Seeing none was
Loved reading your take.

[Gerry Steen]

Will and Gertrude's characters are funny and intriguing. Children will enjoy reading about their antics, as most children are familiar with characters like this in school. Thank you for the thorough review.

[Julie Marie Basil]

This sounds like a very amusing book for middle-school aged children. I can understand your desire for more illustrations.

[Anu Anand]

This book sounds fun with its humor and creative nicknames! I love how it teaches resilience in a lighthearted way. Illustrations would’ve made it even better!

[Priya Murugesan]

I am currently reading this book. Hope I love and enjoy it as much as you did! Thanks for your review!

[Chi Chiu Michael Mak]

I agree that a story targeted to younger audiences st school could benefit from more vibrant pictures. Will dreads puberty, which makes him relatable to the average reader. Good book!

[Stephen Christopher 1]

I just read this review by two people and you both say the same thing that it would reach a wider audience if it had pictures. I like that the story is aimed at the approaching-puberty audience.

[Neha Panikar]

Do you think that perhaps because the prose lends itself so well to the imagination the author intentionally left out illustrations in order to keep the reader using theirs? I am in favor of anything that gets kids reading and keeps them interested for life, though. Thanks!

That would be my guess too, Amy. I thought about this, but still feel like the absence of illustrations is a loss for such a great book. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and commenting!

[Neha Panikar]

I recently read and reviewed this book. I share your opinion about illustrations. Amy too has a point. I too felt the cover gave the feelers of a book with some illustrations. Seeing none was
Loved reading your take.

Yeah, I read your review too! Its cool we had similar feedback!
Thanks for your comment!!

[Neha Panikar]

Will and Gertrude's characters are funny and intriguing. Children will enjoy reading about their antics, as most children are familiar with characters like this in school. Thank you for the thorough review.

Yeah Gerry...there were a lot more similar characters that were interesting and added a lot of flavour to the book.
Thanks for your comment!

[Neha Panikar]

This sounds like a very amusing book for middle-school aged children. I can understand your desire for more illustrations.

Thanks Julie for your comment!

[Neha Panikar]

This book sounds fun with its humor and creative nicknames! I love how it teaches resilience in a lighthearted way. Illustrations would’ve made it even better!

Yes Anu, it was fun to read even (and especially) as a grown up.
Thanks for your comment!

[Neha Panikar]

I am currently reading this book. Hope I love and enjoy it as much as you did! Thanks for your review!

Yeah..look forward to reading your review and knowing your views.
Thanks for commenting!