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Shadow Kid
Rocked by back-to-back family deaths, eight-year-old Gavin Scott is yanked from his happy life in upstate New York and plopped down onto Planet New Hampshire. It's the 1960's, bullies are merciless, and he must outsmart them at every turn. But with a knack for pranks, Gavin learns that running with a wild crowd has its drawbacks.
Refusing to roll on his buddies for a crime he didn't commit, Gavin takes the heat and punishment is harsh. The Wings for Young Offenders program offers troubled teens a straighter path. Gavin earns his seat in the cockpit. Flying is the finest rush he's ever felt, but he still can't soar. He can't even get through high school. A lurid back channel opportunity opens.
The shadow brigade of juveniles infiltrates clandestine global operations. Scraped raw by risky secret missions, Gavin slips into biker gangs, brawls, and booze. He finds love. Loses it. Seeks a permanent quiet. Saved by an ethereal message in the form of a tiny golden heart, Gavin rejoins his odd current of fate. It leads to Hollywood. A family. Fulfillment. But regret is ruthless. When another presence enters his life, he questions what it means to survive. Can a Shadow Kid ever find the light? And the power of the golden heart, a new home?
Refusing to roll on his buddies for a crime he didn't commit, Gavin takes the heat and punishment is harsh. The Wings for Young Offenders program offers troubled teens a straighter path. Gavin earns his seat in the cockpit. Flying is the finest rush he's ever felt, but he still can't soar. He can't even get through high school. A lurid back channel opportunity opens.
The shadow brigade of juveniles infiltrates clandestine global operations. Scraped raw by risky secret missions, Gavin slips into biker gangs, brawls, and booze. He finds love. Loses it. Seeks a permanent quiet. Saved by an ethereal message in the form of a tiny golden heart, Gavin rejoins his odd current of fate. It leads to Hollywood. A family. Fulfillment. But regret is ruthless. When another presence enters his life, he questions what it means to survive. Can a Shadow Kid ever find the light? And the power of the golden heart, a new home?
300 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published August 1, 2019
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10 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Vaughn
6 books39 followersJennifer is an award-winning TV News Anchor and Author. She has interviewed every president, and presidential candidate since 1999, assisting in internationally televised presidential debates alongside CNN, ABC NEWS, and Fox News. Jennifer and her team have been recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding coverage and earned multiple Associated Press, and NH Association of Broadcasters commendations. Jennifer's debut novel, Last Flight Out was featured in the Swag Bag at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2013, with all proceeds directed to NH cancer charities. Throw Away Girls, Book 1 in the Jaycee Wilder Series was followed by Legacy Girls, Book 2. Echo Valley released in the summer of 2017. Her latest book, Shadow Kid, is a Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal winner for Outstanding Writing. Her 2022 release, Made In Hollywood, is an Amazon Hot New Release.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 7, 2024
Excellent read on a true life story. Had me turning the pages for sure. I didn’t realize it was until I finished the book. This read was definitely not like her others. Loved the book Jennifer Vaughn!
🧡🖤💛🖤💛🖤🧡
🧡🖤💛🖤💛🖤🧡
September 16, 2019
The next book that needs to be made into a movie!
A compelling masterpiece! Almost impossible to put down! - Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, CEO, The Best Ever You Network
A compelling masterpiece! Almost impossible to put down! - Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, CEO, The Best Ever You Network
January 30, 2020
This is a biography of Gavin Scott, a tough coming of age story set in current times, but Gavin grew up in the 1970's. I sometimes have difficulty rating books of this type, as often my opinion of the writing of the story could sound like I am passing judgement on the person himself, and not the way his story is told. That's exactly the case here.
As a young man Gavin was a spectacular case of an underachiever until he quit school and bashed life in the face. He was bold and brash and determined. That can certainly be admirable, and usually is, but it can also portray the character as a bit of a jerk. In Gavin's case it's true, but for the most part he is an admirable kid who survives his "issues" and becomes an accomplished, thoughtful and sensitive man. He carves an interesting career and wins a great deal of deserved public acclaim and praise.
Jennifer Vaughn is a lifetime journalist and media writer. Her resume is vast. The story she tells here is great for content, but her writing is a bit 'clipped' short, heavy on cliche and sometimes more like street lingo than prose. There is nothing elegant or flowery about her story telling. Not that an element of that is critical, but the dialog is quite simplistic and her story lacks subtlety. It's like she wants to hit the reader over the head with lessons learned rather than simply letting the character, situation and result speak for itself.
The book was good....just not great. I thought it might be a Y A title, and surely it could be a good book/story for a younger person to read. It did have a 'local New Hampshire" flavor that i found interesting and authentic. It's BASED on Gavin's true story, and doesn't elaborate anywhere if facts were embellished or altered, which I thought might have been an important part of the afterward.
As a young man Gavin was a spectacular case of an underachiever until he quit school and bashed life in the face. He was bold and brash and determined. That can certainly be admirable, and usually is, but it can also portray the character as a bit of a jerk. In Gavin's case it's true, but for the most part he is an admirable kid who survives his "issues" and becomes an accomplished, thoughtful and sensitive man. He carves an interesting career and wins a great deal of deserved public acclaim and praise.
Jennifer Vaughn is a lifetime journalist and media writer. Her resume is vast. The story she tells here is great for content, but her writing is a bit 'clipped' short, heavy on cliche and sometimes more like street lingo than prose. There is nothing elegant or flowery about her story telling. Not that an element of that is critical, but the dialog is quite simplistic and her story lacks subtlety. It's like she wants to hit the reader over the head with lessons learned rather than simply letting the character, situation and result speak for itself.
The book was good....just not great. I thought it might be a Y A title, and surely it could be a good book/story for a younger person to read. It did have a 'local New Hampshire" flavor that i found interesting and authentic. It's BASED on Gavin's true story, and doesn't elaborate anywhere if facts were embellished or altered, which I thought might have been an important part of the afterward.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews