Positive Force [Paperback]

Tim Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

Officer Brandon James had been the head of Oakwood's gang commission for a relatively short time. In that time, however, he had made great strides against the five gangs in the city. The one thing that Officer James could not put his finger on was the tall red headed kid that had just appeared without warning. "The Red Headed Stranger" as they called him was part of the reason he had had so much early success. The kid would show up at gang activity, bring it to a peaceful resolution, then disappear, just as fast as he had shown up. Things were going well. Officer James had met a lovely nurse named April who was also looking for the red headed kid, but for different reasons. They both were single parents with teenagers. All was going well until someone put a million dollar bounty on the family of Officer James. "Oh my God!" exclaimed the Chief, not hiding the emotion that was welling up in his eyes. The camera panned to the front of the damaged building. The scene showed two firemen with yellow oxygen tanks on their backs and fully covered with protective gear and masks. They were carrying a small, black body bag suspended between them. They placed the bag on the ground. Officer James came running hysterically into camera range shouting, "Michael! Tommy!" He threw his arms around the bag and began sobbing uncontrollably. The cameramen, in their disregard for human suffering, panned in on the distressed officer for a close-up. The boys watching the scene on television were in shock. Who had killed the children of Officer James? Who was the red headed kid, and why was he there? What is Positive Force and how will it overcome all this negative action?

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Nightengale Press (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933449578
• ISBN-13: 978-1933449579
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,954,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Force Triumphs!, January 23, 2008

By 

Yvonne Perry (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Positive Force (Paperback)

From the very first sentence to the very last one, this book had me glued to the pages. The characters came to life and I could not wait to find out how a petite nurse named April O'Rielly was going to deal with a ghost known as the Red-headed Stranger.

It all started with sixty-year-old Ruth Woodman who not spoken a word in nearly twenty years since her son had died. Her silence was broken the day she and April saw the ghost who had been haunting the city of Oakwood. This was no average haunting, however. This ghost was better than Casper the friendly ghost; he was helping the police department defend the city against gang activity.

With a righteous reward for his death, Officer Brandon James had to defend himself and his boys from the retaliation of the gangs who had infiltrated the local high school. Good thing he met April O'Rielly. Not only was she lovely to look at, she and her sons were a lifesaver when it came to helping Brandon solve his criminal case.

What is this NEW gang coming on the scene? And, who is in it? Tommy, the other Tommy, Joe, Michael, Bryan, and Pudge as well as their new recruits. Surely the sons of April and Brandon are not involved in a gang! But, this is a special gang--one with a constitution and bylaws that does not believe in violence--a gang that works for the good of the community. A gang based on positive attributes instead of negative ones. Can this gang save the city of Oakwood? Only with the help of the Red-headed Stranger!

The book tracks a fabulous love story that unfolds among Brandon and April. There is also a "sleepover" in a warehouse with two gang members who are in love. The book safely touches the "hot" button without encouraging anyone to get burned. The story comes full circle as Ruth is reunited with her son.

Tim Stewart is one of those authors everyone will love. His kind personality comes through in his writing. Each character is developed with true-to-life persona. Each is cast in a believable role with slang dialog current to today's teenager, yet Stewart gets the point across without using "gutter" language. This may be especially appreciated by law enforcement officers, drug task force members, parents and others who are trying to rid our culture of gangster behavior. He offers a substitute--an alternative to being involved in violence and drugs. A teenage boy gets to the root of the problem by issuing a plea to parents to stay involved in the lives of their children. "By keeping the sports programs active; by keeping extracurricular activities available; by showing each other--staff, parents and students--that you care. Kids get involved in gangs because they want to belong to something. If we offer our students a place to belong they won't turn to gangs looking for acceptance."

The story is filled with humor. How can you not have humor when you have two generations and two families living under one roof while trying to understand one another? There are realistic clashes between parents and teens, sass and respect, with a dose of overall good reading. I highly recommend this book, not only to teens who love to read and parents who enjoy knowing what their kids are reading, but to those who work with troubled teens and to the teens already involved in gangs, who want a safe way to make an exit from an errant path.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fighting Gang Power with the Power of a Positive Force, April 4, 2008

By 

Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Positive Force (Paperback)

Tim Stewart combines his creative imagination and a natural gift for story telling to include the elements of murder, mystery, intrigue, and romance into this novel with an important message.

The city of Oakwood has been plagued with gang activity for decades. Officer Brandon James, recently appointed as head of Oakwood's gang commission is making great inroads in his fight against the five gangs rampant in the city. A mysterious aspect of this war on gangs was a tall red headed kid who often appeared without warning. His appearance would bring a peaceful outcome to the situation.

After a chance meeting at the police department, April O'Reilly and Officer Brandon James discovered that someone had offered a million dollar reward offer for taking the lives of his teenage boys. During a short visit in the O'Reilly's home, the TV news coverage showed a picture of an explosion and fire that had destroyed the James home.

In an effort to apprehend the perpetrators a complex plan, which included a fake funeral, disguises and false identities, Michael James and Joe O'Reilly infiltrated five gangs and became instrumental in recruiting members from each gang to become one combined gang named "Positive Force." With the help of an angel or ghost, the teenage redhead, helped organize the Positive Force to overcome all the negative gang actions.

Leaders from the gangs not willing to become members of positive force were taken into custody. The entire city of Oakwood was changed for the better. The book is written for the young adolescent and teen reader, however, because the importance of the message it is a must read for adults as well.

Tim Stewart's dedication and mission is to influence teens with a challenge to achieve their goals while becoming a "Positive Force." This message comes through loud and clear in his story line, dialog, and strong character development. "Positive Force" has the potential of becoming a powerful movie. An excellent reading experience.

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Force by Tim Stewart, January 23, 2010

By 

onyx95 "-Debbie" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Positive Force (Paperback)

Finding a red headed young man willing to help her and her patient (Ruth Woodman) cross the street, April O'Reilly was shocked when the woman started talking. Ruth hadn't spoken a work in nearly 20 years, right after watching the murder of her son. Wanting more information that might be of help to her patient, April went to the police station and found herself face to face with Officer Brandon James. Realizing that they were both looking for information on the same boy, they joined forces to track down the information. Since they both had boys of the same age, when Officer James was called in to word, he had no problem leaving them all together. Then losing everything to gang violence when his house was blown up, started the whole group in a new direction. Keeping the boys safe was the priority, but finding the reason and person behind the murder attempt was also very important. Possibly the red headed Shane Woodman could help find and stop the violence that had invaded the town of Oakwood.

This is a debut novel by the (in my opinion) very talented author Tim Stewart. I found it very difficult to put this book down, even when I had to. I laughed until I cried and I found myself emotionally attached to each of the characters. I enjoyed the supernatural aspect of the ghost, and the fact that the boys (Jr. High and High School student age) carried a large part of the story. Even the unrealistically quit courtship of Brandon and April seemed to flow naturally to it's fun conclusion. It had some serious, intense moments, but was all done in a way that made it fun for the reader (for me anyways). The whole book was light and funny while at the same time pointing out that violence, gangs, drugs, can be changed with optimism, hope and love if the right people are there to support and believe in it. One loose end was left, but for the most part it was a happy ending, just with room for more. While I would consider this a good book for the Young Adults because of the moral issues of gang violence, it also had a very fun and flirty love story between Brandon and April. I absolutely adore this story and would love to see Tim Stewart come up with another one whether it is a sequel to this one or new and different - it makes no difference to me, this is one author I will be watching and waiting for.