Eli Frieden is thirteen years old, living a pretty normal
life with his best friend, Randy, in Serenity, New Mexico. Except that life in
Serenity isn’t exactly normal. Eli and Randy and the other 28 kids who live there
know they are very lucky to live in the town voted as “#1 in the USA for
standard of living.” Their parents and teachers often remind them that Serenity
is a unique and wonderful place to live – with no crime, no poverty, and no
unemployment, where honesty and integrity are valued over everything else.
One day, Randy convinces Eli to go along on one of his crazy
schemes and they ride their bikes out of town toward the surrounding national
forest. Something horrible and unexpected happens, though, and soon Eli and his
friends begin to suspect that perhaps everything isn’t quite as perfect in
Serenity as they’ve always thought. Eli’s dad is the mayor, so he has to keep
his growing suspicions to himself, but the kids don’t really know exactly what
is going on…just that something is not quite right.
Each chapter is narrated by a different kid in town, from
among Eli’s friends and classmates who are all around 12 or 13 years old. On
the audio, there is a different actor for each kid’s voice, which really added
to my overall enjoyment of the production. The suspense builds with each
surprising new twist, as the kids try to figure out exactly what is going on in Serenity.
I loved this action-packed middle-grade novel with a unique
plot, and the audio book was a lot of fun to listen to. Kormon has written a
fast-paced, suspenseful story with in-depth characters and plenty of surprising
twists and turns to keep you guessing. In fact, I rarely feel compelled to read
series – I often finish the first book and think, “I enjoyed that, but I don’t
need to read more” – but this time, I can’t wait for book 2 to find out what
happens next to Eli and his friends!
HarperChildren’s Audio
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