Sid Hite

After telling a lie that grew in significance, 15-year-old Paul is sent to spend the summer with some distant relatives working on a farm - not the way the Richmond, Va., boy had planned his summer. Though irate about it, Paul is polite to everyone on the farm and does his best, quickly growing to actually enjoy the work and the people - especially Rebecca, the teen daughter of one of the other farm hands. The farm seems is haunted (figuratively or literally?) by an employee who had made a great impression on everyone there, but then took his own life a year before. Everyone on the farm is having difficulty moving past Hennley's death, and the man's dog, Einstein, is a constant reminder to them of the friend they lost.
I never grew particularly attached to any of the characters in this book. They were all appealing enough, but I just didn't care deeply what happened to any of them. I never quite accepted Paul's growing obsession with Hennley. That was not convincing. A good book, but not a great one.… (more)

Lewis finds out on his 15th birthday that he was adopted and has been struggling with his identity for a year. Then, on his 16th birthday, his mom gives him a letter from his birth mother. He finds out a little more about himself. He dealt with the news of his adoption by fishing for a huge trout that he is sure he spotted. This year he has devised a new plan for the fish, and it ends up involving the whole town.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. There were some pretty funny parts, but there was a lot crammed in to the story. Overall, it was an okay read.… (more)