Leepike Ridge

Monterey was as beautiful as ever...more on that later (hopefully with photos). I finished 3 of the 4 books I took along, and will share my opinion of them.

Leepike Ridge is the first fiction offering from Nathan Wilson (son of Doug Wilson), and my prior experience with both was not an inducement to read the book! I was unimpressed with the elder Wilson's attempts at fiction for children...it seemed somewhat contrived, plus the number of typeset errors for which Canon Press is famous, presented a huge distraction for me. My experience with the younger was only through his immature, overly sarcastic and disrespectful (though admittedly funny at times), Right Behind.

I was prompted to read the book by a very favorable review from a librarian in New York who absolutely LOVED the book. Her favor is not unjustified.

Nathan does a superb job of capturing the essence of boyhood...the grit, the moodiness, the sensitivity. In my experience, 11-year-old boys are all that. The theme of descent into darkness followed by ascension to light (or death and resurrection) is obvious and prominent, but Nathan's father remarks that this theme is as unremarkable as the presence of ten toes on the author's feet. His use of language and image IS remarkable in my opinion. Below are two excerpts which demonstrate his ability...his words are fluid and his plot is tight...it works. I recommend reading this one - I am anxious to hear my 13-year-old's opinion. He is more widely read than I am, and will offer a unique perspective...I'll let you know what he thinks.

"After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed. Tom was hardly drowsy, and he took more than a few mouthfuls. By the time he had reached the base of the rock, his senses were heightened nearly to the point of bursting. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving behind the secretive sounds, the shy sounds, the whispers and conversations of moss disputing with grass over some soft piece of earth..."

"The world has seen many men sail down rivers or out to sea lying on rafts or in boats, even on large pyres on the wooden decks of battered warships. These men were usually dead and gripping swords, not sticks, and wearing armor. ...Tom was the first one to ever strike such a pose on this stream...And while he was definitely the first in history to make such a voyage on white packing foam, being alive when he made it was not terribly original."