FISHING FOR LUCK

Parental conflict and an escaped convict with a grudge complicate a boy’s life in this middle-grade novel.

In his first-person narrative, seventh grader Kevin is worried about his parents’ arguments. But with hopes of catching a record-breaking catfish, he’s still looking forward to a spring break trip with his best friends, Preech and Rudy. Kevin’s also eager to learn if the odd stones the three found may be valuable. His worries multiply when Rudy’s stepfather, Ted, the man Kevin helped put in prison, escapes and forces the appalled boy to help him hide. With the safety of Rudy and his own family at stake—including the irrepressible little sister he adores—Kevin feels he has no one to turn to, not even the wise, outdoors-savvy, one-legged veteran soldier the boys call “The Oracle.” Ted, as grossly repulsive as he is dangerous, is a genuine threat in the story, and Richter maintains an authentic balance between Kevin’s courageous bravado and his desperate efforts to keep the fugitive away from those he cares about. (At the sight of Ted’s dilapidated hideout, Kevin says, “fear crawled up my spine like a tarantula. The busted windows were like eyes, and the hole where the front door had been looked like a mouth caught mid-scream.”) Still, despite suspense galore in Kevin’s dangerous predicament involving Ted’s harsh demands, the significance of the three boys’ potentially valuable “lucky rocks,” why Kevin feels guilt over his parents’ conflict, and The Oracle’s quest for his long-missing wife have a strong air of familiarity, recalling events that took place in the author’s debut middle-grade novel, Lucky Rocks (2014), featuring the same characters. Richter does deftly recap for readers Ted’s vicious behavior that occurred in the first book to explain the continuing hatred and fear that Kevin and his friends feel toward him and to give the hero another understandable reason for acting alone in his frightening interactions with the prison escapee. In the end, wrapped up in a chilling plot twist, Kevin learns a freeing lesson about trust and communication and the author offers a teaser of more tales to come.

An adventure that delivers plenty of suspense, a lively tween voice, and some familiar elements.