Me & Jay

by W. Royce Adams

One hot summer day, two thirteen-year olds decide to cool off by finding Blue Pool a dangerous, off-limits area. They discover adventures and trouble they hadn't bargain for as they foolishly hop a freight train, accidentally start a grass fire and get chased through a cave by two men desperate to keep the kids from telling what the've discovered. This action-packed story is a happy-ending page-turner for grades 5 to 8 with a solid message that bad decisions have dire consequences.

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

I'm an Emeritus Professor of English, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara, California, where I taught for twenty-three years. Before that I taught for seven years at South High School, Torrance, California. Before that I spent three years, five months, and five days in the navy.

I earned degrees from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and California State University, Long Beach. During my thirty-year teaching career, I published twenty-two college textbooks, primarily in the areas of developmental reading, writing and study skills.

I've published several adult short stories, several of which appear in my short story collection, Teacher, Teacher, I Declare! Several of my young adult novels have won awards. See http://www.rairarubiabooks.com.

I'm a past-president of the College Reading and Learning Association, a member of the Author's Guild, the International Reading Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, The Association of Booksellers for Children, and the Rockford Writers Guild.

I live in Santa Barbara, California, with my wife, Jane Brody.

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads Firstreads. I found this book very interesting, and full of suspense and adventure. It was written for 5th through 8th graders, I believe they would really enjoy it, I did and I am far from that age demographics.

[Terry]

On the surface, this is an adventure story and it can stand by itself. However, it is also a story about self-image in the pre-teen years, as Jay and Geri have been shunned as “different” by their peers at school. The layers of friendship, growing up, decision-making weaves a story that will attract teens.