Separated

Adam #0.5

by Shane Peacock

When Adam's grandfather first suggests taking him on a quick trip to Sweden to celebrate his upcoming thirteenth birthday, visions of being in one of the coolest places on earth--and he's not thinking of the temperature--dance in Adam's mind. But on his way there he reads that Swedes have a darker past, and present, than he ever imagined. Then he finds himself alone and separated from his grandfather in busy Stockholm. He is followed by unsmiling strangers, chased by ghosts down alleyways and constantly watched by the strangest girl he's ever seen. And then another terror, perhaps bigger than the terror of being lost, begins to overwhelm him.
In this fast-paced prequel to Last Message and Double You, the outwardly confident but often secretly anxious Adam wanders the streets of Stockholm.

168 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Shane Peacock was born in 1957 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, one of four brothers. He attended school in the northern town of Kapuskasing, Ontario, before attending university, where he studied History and English literature. A biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, he is also the author of eighteen novels, a picture book and three plays, and has been won and/or been nominated for numerous awards including two Arthur Ellis Awards for crime fiction, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for historical fiction, the Violet Downey Award, the Libris Award, seven times honored with Junior Library Guild of America selections, and has been on three shortlists for the Canadian Children's Literature Award, and one for the Governor-General's Award. His books have been published in 20 languages in 18 countries. He and his wife, journalist Sophie Kneisel live in Cobourg, Ontario and have two daughters and a son.

Series:
* The Dylan Maples Adventures
* The Boy Sherlock Holmes
The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim
The Seven Series

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2008): Eye of the Crow
The Arthur Ellis (2013)
The Violet Downey Award
The Libris Award
The Geoffrey Bilson Award
The Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award
Anne Izard Storyteller Choice Award
Junior Library Guild of America Selection (7 times)
Governor-General's Award (shortlist)
TD Canadian Children's Literature Award (shortlist)

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Adam's grandfather first suggests taking him on a quick trip to Sweden to celebrate his upcoming 13th birthday, visions of being in one of the coolest places on earth - and he hasn't been thinking about the temperature - dance in Adam's mind. But on his way there he reads that Swedes have a darker past and present, than he ever imagines. Then he finds himself alone and separated from his grandfather in busy Stockholm. He is followed by unsmiling strangers, chased by ghosts down alleyways and constantly watched by the strangest girl he ever seen. And then another terror, perhaps bigger than the terror of being lost, begins to overwhelm him. In this fast-paced prequel to Last Message and Double You by Shane Peacock, the outwardly confident but often secretly anxious Adam wanders the streets of Stockholm.

From the very first pages of this book one can tell that Adam is a fairly anxious individual, as he goes over the various things that might possibly go wrong while they are traveling, while his grandfather sits next to him very calmly. Before arriving in Sweden, Adam reads an article online that discusses some of Sweden's darker past, from their involvement in past wars, such as WWII to some of their personal behavior today. The first few days in Sweden are fine, Adam spends time with his grandfather and nothing really unusual happens. Then he grandfather takes Adam on a surprise trip to ride the Skyview on their last full day in Stockholm and afterwards they stop at an arena to watch a hockey game, where Adam gets separated from his grandfather. After that, Adam spends most of the book running around the streets of Stockholm, with some strange things happening along the way. He eventually reunites with his grandfather at the end of the book.

Overall, this was a fairly short, well written middle-grade book. Even though the book is fairly short, I feel that the reader gets to know the main character Adam pretty well, as the story is told from his point of view. It also has the right amount of suspense and a fast moving plot line to keep readers interested. As mentioned in this synopsis, not only is this a prequel to previously published books but it is also part of a boxed set of 7 books called The Seven Prequels Boxed Set that includes 6 other stories by 6 other authors that are also prequels to Last Message and Double You by Shane Peacock. Thank you to the publisher, Orca Book Publishers, for sending me The Seven Prequels Boxed Set in exchange for an honest review. Also I had the opportunity to participate in an author Q&A session with the author, which will be posted on my blog on September 29 as part of their blog tour, so make sure to stop back for the blog tour! Happy reading!

[Sofia Ventimilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first its hard to get into but then you find yourself stuck in this book because of how awesome and adventures it is.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shane Peacock has done an excellent job of letting us know how it feels to be separated from another even if you are almost a teenager, especially if you are overseas and in a land where they do not speak your language. You can feel the young man's situation and his searching for his grandfather and hear all of the things going through his mind. Enjoyed reading this very much. Received it from LibraryThing.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"

[Kirsikka71 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very torn! On one hand this little easy reader manages to whip up some real pace and intrigue, on the other....what kind of message does it intend to impart? Something questionable or maybe even downright harmful. Yes, I could probably recommend this to somebody new in Sweden for the geographical and historical details..however, no twelve year old should have to worry about "growing up to be a man" or losing their sensitivity. Poppycock!

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book bordered between 2 and 3 stars, but I went with the 3. It just did not seem as authentic as the other 6 books in this Seven Prequel series (all books having been written by different authors).

Adam is 12 years old, and his grandfather, David McLean, takes him on a trip from Buffalo to Sweden. While in Sweden, David would frequently leave Adam alone at the hotel for a few hours each day. Is this for real? Who would take their grandson on a trip at that age and then continually leave him? Also, these disappearances are never explained well.

Then Adam goes missing after losing his grandfather at a hockey game in Stockholm. Adam survives, but David does not seem terribly worried. What the hell? How could you not be worried if your grandson went missing in a foreign country??

Much of the story felt rushed, and this David McLean did not seem to be the same as the David McLean’s from the previous stories.

[Jennifer Montoya]

it was very intense and it made you think if some of the characters were even real such as greta

[Chris Yorgason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairly short story, but an entertaining one. I believe this is the third in a series (though the prequel, so you don't feel like you are missing anything). I found the book to be well-written, entertaining, fast paced and clean. A great book for young adult readers, taking the reader on an adventure to Stockholm (one of my favorite cities), where a young boy learns to survive on his one. All in all a fun read.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this as a ARC book from a site called library thing. I enjoyed reading it. It had a good story to it. It is my first book by this author. It is made for age nine and up. I hope to read more books by this author.