The Downhill Rocket from North Overshoe

by John S. Leech

When Carl Smith learns that his dad’s job is taking the family to a small New England town, the mild-mannered teen is willing to go without complaint — after all, life up to that point had been relatively uneventful. Carl hopes for little more from his new home than to quietly get through his high school years and perhaps finally find a friend or two. Instead, Carl finds himself embroiled in three relationships pulling him, and his life, in conflicting directions. A chance encounter at the school bus stop bonds Carl with a popular jock and the most beautiful girl in the school, and Carl soon finds himself in a tight, meaningful — and complicated — friendship. It’s not long before Carl takes notice of his best friend’s younger sister, a bold and quirky soul who has one eye on Carl and one on competing in the winter Olympics. Underlying all of this is the quietly controlling town philanthropist, who has taken notice of Carl and has her own plans for his future.Seeking to find balance between friendship, desire, pragmatism and passion, Carl struggles to choose when to take responsibility and when to embrace the wild freedoms of youth. In The Downhill Rocket from North Overshoe, John Leech’s gentle and compelling coming-of-age novel, this smart, witty teen must figure out the difference between getting carried along by external forces and choosing his own path. This is the debut novel of author John S. Leech, who actually followed through on his 2018 New Year’s Resolution to write a book. A husband, father, grandfather, and friend, John holds a Geology degree from Colgate, spent three years in the Navy, then held a 43-year career in the investment business. Along the way he has managed to become a nationally ranked squash player, serve as chairman of the board for North America’s largest prep school, and continues to play golf regularly. Born in New England to two lifetime Yankees, John has a true fondness for the region in which The Downhill Rocket from North Overshoe is set — though he’s quick to clarify this entire story is fictional and simply the result of his mind looking for something to think about while resting in bed but not sleeping.Today, John and his wife Cheryl lead lives of comfort in South Florida, broken up by visits to and from their children and grandchildren, and with vacations thrown in when wanderlust strikes.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2019

Reviews

[Krupa Chirravoori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had potential, but didn't deliver for me

I started reading book 2 first since it was on promotion. Then I realised that book 1 in this series was available on Kindle Unlimited and I got it, because the author was a little bit vague about reading book 2 as a standalone.

Well, my review is for book 1 "The Downhill Rocket from North Overshoe". The title itself is somewhat misleading because it refers to a female skier, but the entire book is mostly about her love interest Carl Smith.

Carl is supposed to be some kind of prodigy, but it is not very clear how he shines so bright among his peers. Hence, it is not convincing that a super-rich business woman would pick a teenaged Carl as her protegé and train him to become her business heir.

Then, the girl referred to in the title, Nancy Hathaway. She is a prodigy too, but her field is skiing. What's unsettling about her is that at 17, she is made out to be far more mature, with excellent foresight and huge self-awareness and sortedness that eludes many people even twice her age. Nothing much in her life (except for having lost a parent) justifies this sort of creepy "maturity". In a nutshell, I couldn't get to like that character much.

The supposed romance between Carl and Nancy was also portrayed poorly. It was probably clear that Nancy had a crush on Carl, but Carl himself isn't shown to dwell upon Nancy much. And then suddenly, they are both confessing their love for each other??? That felt so lame and poorly executed.

That kind of abruptness and dryness is actually present in the writing in general. Things and events are described, but to what end really is not known. If there's a plot, it's not apparent even at 45% down the book. It's more like a stream-of-consciousness kind of writing. And there are sudden jumps between salient incidents. Some significant parts are skimmed over with a small paragraph, some mundane parts are described in detail. It's just not engaging for me.

And the author has been very sloppy with copy-editing. There's a full-stop before every double-quote mark, and between Miss and Cora. Also, than and that are confused frequently.

All in all, the reading experience was not satisfying at all, in that I gave up after Chapter 33. I also don't intend to complete book 2 'The Grant Trust'.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming story of a young teenager, Carl, who moves with his family to a small town in New Hampshire because of his father's job. Dad's employer, a very rich, single woman and heir to her father's granite mill takes notice of Carl and offers him a summer job. In time, this leads to far more than just a summer job.
At school, Carl hopes to make friends but it is not until he helps the popular school jock (Jack) that things begin to happen for him. He then becomes part of a threesome consisting of Jack, Jack's girlfriend Sally, and himself. Slowly a relationship develops between Carl and Jack's younger sister, Nancy, an Olympic ski hopeful.
The intertwining story of all these characters keeps you turning pages, and the slow pace allows for full character development in this fictionalized memoir of a gentler time in the 1960s.

[John Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book with interesting characters and a very smooth flow. Although the main characters are teenagers the book is for adults.

[Vicki Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very charming book about small town New England life ! Great first book by this author, I certainly hope there is another book