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Take Me to the River


Take Me to the River
by Will Hobbs
Harper Collins 2011, 192 p Fiction
This brand new Will Hobbs book unites two of the author's favorite themes, a love for the American South West and a love of rivers. In the book two cousins meet in Texas and take a river trip down the Rio Grande. The story is set against the backdrop of the drug cartel violence in Mexico. While the boys are one the river, government officials are searching the area for a cartel hit man. They also happen to be running the river in the middle of a major tropical storm. Flash floods and automatic pistols combine to make the adventure one wild ride. Hobbs action writing and descriptions of the beauty and awesome forces of nature are excellent. As always with Will Hobbs books, the boys are way more skilled and courageous than 15 year-olds have a right to be. That said, the boy characters are very likable. Although a little reckless, they have respect and a deep friendship for each other. Together they discover that they are more brave than they ever thought they could be. This is great book for reluctant reader boys ages 10+. (192 p)

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