1 ARC Tour Review : When the Whistle Blows

Summary - Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg, West Virginia, during the 1940s. He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town: plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in “the Platoon,” and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season— no matter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it! But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is.

Newcomer Fran Cannon Slayton’s powerful first novel captures the serendipity of boyhood by shining a spotlight on the peak adventures of Jimmy’s life. But at its heart, this is a story about a boy and his father in a time when trains reigned supreme.

(Taken from Goodreads)

Review - I am finding it hard to put my feelings for this book into words. I thought it was an a amazing book! One thing that I can point out that I absolutely adored was the way that the book was written. The story takes place in West Virginia many years ago and I am not sure if they still talk that way now but back then they had some improper language. And Im not talking about cursing, though I am sure they did that too, but it was just the way they talked. For instance they say dagburn a WHOLE lot through out the story and I loved it. I thought that it gave the story character. I also loved the characters in this story. Again it is hard to say why without giving away too much of the story but all the characters are amazing and have personalities that you see from a small town. (I would know I live in one :)) But back to the story, I thought it was an amazing coming-of-age story that any one would enjoy.

Cover - 4 stars

Plot - 3 stars

Characters - 5 stars

Writing - 5 stars

Ending - 5 stars