Title: Blast on the Beach
Author: Katrina Hoover Lee
Series: The Brady Street Boys, book 8
Major Themes: North Carolina, Outer Banks, Horses
Synopsis: When the Fitzpatrick boys went to North Carolina to help Uncle Aaron run a friend’s ice cream shop, they found more adventure than they expected to.
Some books are a no-brainer: We will buy them and read them as soon as possible after they come out. The books in the Brady Street Boys series are in that category. As soon as book 8, Blast on the Beach, was available, I signed up for a copy, and started reading it aloud on the first school day after receiving it.
Publisher’s description:
Corolla, NC, the 1980s. Gary Fitzpatrick can’t wait to explore the beach. Thrilled to help his uncle run an ice cream parlor, he and his brothers are admonished by their grumpy downstairs neighbor who isn’t about to put up with any noisy shenanigans. But when he heads to investigate a terrified whinny coming from the backyard, he finds one of the area’s majestic horses caught in a chain with a tranquilizer dart stuck in its side.
Rewarded with a gruff friendship from the old local, the quick-witted teenager’s imagination runs wild when the man pulls out a weathered treasure map. But as soon as he seeks an expert for an appraisal of the antique object, someone breaks in and steals the precious document.
Hunting for clues at the home and the lighthouse, can Gary expose the truth?
My thoughts:
I had to read ahead in Blast on the Beach so that I could post a review quickly—what a great excuse! I had a hard time putting this down when it was bedtime last night; I wanted to keep going and find out what happened next! Even though the plot of this book was a little more far-fetched than the others in the series, I found it believable and gripping. I’m looking forward to seeing what my boys say about it.
As with the other books in this series, I appreciated how the boys did their best to obey their parents and their Uncle Aaron, who was the responsible adult in this book. There were several times when one of the boys wanted to do something questionable, and the others reminded him about what their parents told them. The boys did do some dangerous things, but not intentionally. Throughout the story, they continued their summer project about the Fruits of the Spirit by discussing and looking for examples of meekness. These discussions are always fast-paced, and never preachy, but they definitely get the point across.
The Brady Street Boys series has a place of honor on our shelves—when the books are here! Several local families have been borrowing these books from us and enjoying them. One girl reported that she read the first book in the series five times while she had it—she normally reads books three times. Another family eagerly devours each new book as soon as we get it here, and impatiently waits for the next one. These books are written for middle-grade children, but all ages seem to enjoy them.
Oh, I almost forgot the other thing I was going to mention—the setting! In Blast on the Beach, the boys are in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. My husband and I went there on our honeymoon, so this was a special book for me. I enjoyed reading about a place I am somewhat familiar with, and it felt quite authentic, although we never saw any wild horses while we were there.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
WARNING: A boy gets injured but not badly; a man is mangled in an accident.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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