Customer Reviews

The Roman and the Runaway (Hawley Lodge stories)

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4 star:		(2)
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Written by A.J. Braithwaite, this relatively short book is marketed for a young adult audience. I found the writing style geared perfectly for a middle grade audience. Unlike the average, modern young adult book, which leaves more to the imagination, the writing in this book is careful to spell out everything the reader should be understanding. As a result, it lacked voice; I wasn't experiencing what the characters were experiencing, I was reading what they were experiencing.

The writing felt proper and old-fashioned in places, with a nice, somewhat sanitized feel typical of older books, but with some edge in the form of swear words .Overall, I was reminded of a high school creative writing contest. The writing style wasn't bad and there is definitely an audience for it. I just think the audience it's meant for is much younger than the modern young adult set.

The story begins with Luke's experiences from summer holidays up to partway through his term at school, when he meets the runaway. Then the story backtracks to briefly describe the runaway's experiences up to the point where she meets Luke. The story then continues from there with both experiences. I was thrown off by the seemingly totally different story when the runaway's story started and wondered if this was actually a collection of two separate stories. I think introducing the runaway earlier and alternating her timeline with Luke's (as indicated by chapter headings) up until they meet would have solved that problem. The overall story was interesting, but some of the plot events seemed illogical and it became somewhat absurd at the end. The ending ties things up in a strangely perfect and extremely serendipitous way, which is something I'd expect more from a middle grade novel.

It's hard to rate the characters because I didn't get a real feel for them. The only characters I really felt like I "knew" to any extent were Luke, Pagan, Ned, and possibly Mr. Wilmot. Mr. Wilmot actually felt like he could be the most complex character in the book, as he was the only one who didn't feel completely straightforward.

It's difficult to gauge my reaction to this book. It has a nice middle-grade feel to it, the writing is generally clear and moves the story along, but it feels very bland because the characters and events are explained in such a way that I didn't get to experience them. I rate books according to their intended audience. If this book were for a middle grade audience, I'd likely give it 3 stars (the ending was still a little *too* much, and I'd want the swear words to go away). As it's meant for today's young adult market, I give it:

2.5 /5 stars Full review @ MotherLode [...]

This book appears to be geared for a high school audience, but the writing is very simple for that age group. While there are no major grammatical or spelling errors, there are some minor formatting errors, and there's some pretty powerful cursing early on. The major events in this story are grossly unbelievable, most of the characters are flat, and the parents are blithering idiots.

Spoiler Alert!

The Roman is doing poorly in school, so his parents decide to send him to boarding school to get him away from local bad influences. Instead of telling her mom that mom's boyfriend can't keep his hands off her, the Runaway decides to - Guess what! - run away from home to get her mom's attention. If you had run away from home and were hiding, would you talk with a group of boys from a school near your hideout? If you were a counselor and it was obvious your daughter had major issues with your significant other, would it take her running away and police and social workers questioning you before you suspected anything? If you were already pregnant before you even MET your future husband, just how long do you think it would take for him (and you!) to figure out that the baby born shortly after the wedding wasn't his? Suppose you had just suffered a near-death experience and discovered you might need a liver transplant. Your mom comes in and very bluntly says, "Your dad is not your dad," then goes on to explain who he is, someone you have recently gotten to know very well. I think your response would be a little more powerful than a simple, "Right."

I suggest the author take some writing classes or get help from a professional editor before releasing her next novel. I really can't recommend this book.

The spelling is English rather than American (eg. Mum instead of Mom) but that's not a detraction. While this book isn't fast-paced it's got some real depth. Great for guys who like a bit of substance in their books.'

I enjoyed this book. The author's writing style flowed with a good balance of action, dialogue and description. The details of a private boarding school
in England seemed authentic and were interesting. I think the book would be good for 10 to 16 year olds (with the odd swear word removed for school novel study use). A number of interesting side issues were raised also. I found no errors in grammar, spelling nor typos and all in all it is professionally published.