Customer Reviews

The Spanish Smile

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And it did. O'Dell has done much better. In Black Star,Bright Dawn, and in Island of the Blue Dolphins. Lucinda is a decent main character of the book, and her father is convingly crazy. But the story drags, and some parts aren't explained clearly enough for me to understand. Like, what does Chris Dawson look like anyway, other than the fact he has long hair? This guy is NEVER clearly described! And who in the world is that guy Lucinda is with on the cover!? That's right, I don't know who he is. And you never find out! It's ridiculous! It's too bad. I was hoping O'Dell had written a book with both entertaining and nice looking characters. Call me picky, but lately I've been reading so many books by him, where every guy sounds hideous to behold. Maybe he has a hard time making someone handsome? Anyway, try to ignore how easy-to-look at that guy is on the cover, 'cause you won't find out who he is. Guess he's just a model, making her look good. *shrug* The describing of the surroundings was good, the castle came accross as spooky and deserted, though people lived there. Well, I won't give away the climax of this "wonderful" story (there isn't one). Don't buy it. Borrow it from a library or something first.

I'm a great admirer of O'Dell, and have read more than few of his books; this out-of-print title is a modestly successful historical piece set on a ficitious Pacific island off the Southwestern U.S. coast. It features a tyrannical father, an independent and resourceful heroine, two black mambas, lots of gold, and the usual winsome and authentic historical ambience that has made O'Dell so reliable. Worth grabbing if you can find it reasonably cheap.