Hurricane Coltrane

Things I liked: Merrill was a very realistic smart-mouthed teenager, but he wasn't afraid to make a fool of himself to protect a friend. Most of the gentle plot twists were easily believable (the culmination of the website situation feels just a bit less plausible, and the finding-the-new-agent part seemed much too easy & perfect). The characters were, in general, nice people (flawed, normal, nice people). There was a happy-but-not-all-perfect ending.

Things I didn't like: What good does it do to buy off someone if they not only don't know WHY, but don't even know they ARE being paid for their silence? Okay, that isn't really a book issue–it's a “that character is stupid” complaint. The pace is a little slow, but that can be considered a style choice rather than a true flaw.

If you want a book with action-packed adventure, this is not that book. If you want a glitzy, exciting book, this is not that book, even with a couple of trips to L.A. If you want a book about good & bad families and about people who are mostly trying to do what is right in hard situations, this might be that book. If you want a book about worthwhile choices in real life and loyalty under pressure, this might be that book.