This is my honest opinion about this book.
My friend recommended this book to me. The cover is eye-catching and the title is intruiging; however, this book was really too cliche and far fetched for my liking. Here's my review of the book, Summer of Suspense by C.R. Hedgcock.
PLOT (Synopsis from GoodReads, comments in [bold] mine):
When Phil, Abby, Andy, and Tom Baker [seemingly perfect, sheltered children] hear that their cousin Millie [seemingly haughty, worldy teen] will visit their farm for the summer, little do they imagine what a dreary time they will have with the snobbish girl [making it seem like the Bakers are living a perfect life and don't know what lies outside their back door]. But when Millie disappears [gasp, who knew it was coming], life quickly becomes anything but dreary. What starts out as a summer of chores and horse-riding on the farm turns into a cross-country adventure, as the Bakers find themselves matching wits with a notorious jewelry thief [gahh this was the cringy-est part of the book... this book was written 6 years ago, but still, back then, I don't think there were big name jewelry theifs that would steal children...] who pulls them into her web. Aided by a seasoned detective, the Bakers confront numerous dangers [far-fetched ones] in their search for Millie, all while attempting to foil the plot of a major crime ring [yeah, this was the part where the story went wacko] -- making it a summer they will never forget.
If that's not cliche to you, I don't know what is.
MY THOUGHTS There are a thousand predictable plot turns and unrealistic ways of getting out of danger, such as Abby pulling the wire off her braces to make a key to escape (I could never do that) and her and Millie escaping on horses (one stolen, gasp) and jumping a fence and not getting captured again. Then they practically walk right back into the trap.
We don't hear much about Millie's parents except at the beginning; I don't even think her mom said a word in the book. I feel like the author could've added more about her parents.
The author added some Bible verses that were relevant at some points, but then I felt like in some situations they were just added to make the book seem more Christian?
CHARACTERS:
The family as a whole: A Christian, homeschooling family who lives on a farm and own horses. The fact that the kids were super obedient and nice to one another annoyed me. There weren't any big disagreements or fights and that kind of made the story fake and unrealistic.
Phillip: We were never given an age for Phil, but I was guessing he was 17 because he was able to drive and we were told he went to a conference on his own. He was (almost) the perfect older brother and saves the day when all goes wrong.
Andy: This was the character that had the best development. When he had to stay home while Phil was out helping the detective, Andy grew jealous and angry because he had to stay to do all the farm work. The author then has Andy realizing the fault in his thinking and has him repent.
Abby: I don't have much to say about Abby. She was, however, pretty smart with ways of escaping, although I'd think that she'd thought of it wrong to steal a horse to escape. The author did mention, though, how she felt guilty of lying to her kidnappers.
Tom: I felt like he kind of added some intended humor to the story, although I thought that was unnecessary at some parts.
Mildred: Millie is the family's cousin who comes for a visit. She's a typical modern day girl whose hair is dyed, wears makeup, and has an iPhone. You see a bit of character development in her when she apologizes (not fully but slightly) to Abby when the girls are captured and near the end where her attitude is more kind as apposed to prideful.
WRITING
This book was written by a teen and I believe it was her first book to be published. I could see how I could write something like this, however, the story line and plot did have some extravagant twists that I wasn't expecting from my first impression. I was impressed.
CONTENT
Other than some "scary" parts like Abby getting kidnapped, it was clean of langauage and any other "dirty" aspects. After all, it's about a Christian, homeschooled family, so what can you expect?
COVER AND FORMAT
The cover was what got me thinking this would be an awesome book. The font was really small and it made the book look small when it really wasn't.
OVERALL
Overall, I'd give this book a 2.5/5 star rating. It was an easy read - I managed to get it done with in a day and a bit. However, that was caused by the fact that the plot moved on immensely fast and didn't give too much time for character development, other than Andy who pretty much has to stay home while all the action is happening.
Don't get me wrong. This is a good book, but I think I would've enjoyed it more when I was younger as I wouldn't be able to see the faults. The best thing about the book is that it taught some great character lessons throughout the story. So, in conclusion, if you're looking for an easy read (and lots of moments of cringy-ness), then you'll enjoy picking up this book.