From the desk of Stephanie Tiner
  • Life My Way
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Book Reviews
    • Middle Grade Reviews
    • Children's Book Reviews
  • Tiner Bookmarks
  • Contact Me
  • Interviews
  • About
  • Life My Way
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Book Reviews
    • Middle Grade Reviews
    • Children's Book Reviews
  • Tiner Bookmarks
  • Contact Me
  • Interviews
  • About

I would love to ride a dragon, meet a fairy, and solve a mystery. 

The Secrets of Tree Taylor by Dandi Daley Mackall

1/15/2018

Comments

 
​In the summer of 1963, Tree Taylor has two goals she wished to achieve; 1) write an article that will grant her the freshman journalist position at the school newspaper, Blue and Gold, and 2) experience her first real kiss, the kind worth writing about. At thirteen-years-old, Tree already knows that she wants to be a writer, she only needs a story to write about.
One morning while Tree is sitting on her porch trying to come up with an idea for her article, the sound of a gunshot echoes through the early morning air. Tree instantly knows what her article is going to be about. The more she digs into the Kinney incident, however, the more she wonders whether the secrets she is uncovering are the ones that she should write about.
This was an interesting novel, though I neither liked nor disliked it.
The characters in this novel are very well written, constructed and thought out; their personalities are highly realistic and, despite the differences in the times, easy to connect to.
The small town setting is cute and quaint. It reminds me, in some ways, of the small town that I grew up in. It is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone and a secret is never really a secret. Of course, when you are a child, things are not always as clear or apparent to you as they are when you are an adult. I think that is why Mrs. Kinney’s secret was such a big thing for Tree.
Of course, since Tree is thirteen and I am not, I was able to discern Mrs. Kinney’s secret almost from the beginning, as well as Penny’s secret. Despite the title of the book, Tree didn’t have a lot of secrets of her own.
I really did not like the ending of this novel. For me, it was as though it never ended, especially with regard to her friend Jack. The mysteries behind Mrs. Kinney’s secret and Penny’s fear were cleared up rather nicely, there was both an answer and a resolution. But with regard to Jack, and a select few other characters, there wasn’t any resolution, no way for the reader to walk away satisfied.
I would recommend this novel to young readers who enjoy historical coming-of-age novels.
I bought my copy of this novel from my local Dollar Tree. I have been denied permission to use an image of the cover artwork above because my review is less than positive. 
Comments

    Book Reviews

    Adult, Young Adult, and Teen Reviews. 

    Stephanie Tiner loves to read, and has since she was a young child. She conducts her reviews in a professional manner and refrains from spoilers. 

    Featured Product

    Amazon Kindle 7 
    ​"We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”

    Archives

    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    May 2016

    Categories

    All
    Accidents Of Marriage
    A Dog Names Christmas
    A Givng Heart: A Coloring Book Celebrating Motherhood
    Amy Rivers
    Amy Tintera
    Arena
    Arwen Elys Dayton
    As A Shield
    Ash And Quill
    A Spell For Chameleon
    Avenged
    Beauty And The Beast
    Begone The Raggedy Witches
    Belle
    Best Laid Plans And Other Disasters
    Broken Circle
    Burton Guster
    Cambria
    Cameron Dokey
    Carrie Vaughn
    C. C. Hunter
    Chad Gervich
    Christopher Pike
    Cinda Williams Chima
    Clare O'Donohue
    Coloring Book
    Cookbook
    Dandi Daley Mackall
    Danny And Wanda Pelfrey
    Daphne Martin Cake Mystery
    Dark Deception
    Dark Vengeance
    Davis Morgan Mystery
    Dead Pan
    Dee Henderson
    Defenders Of Justice
    Dennis O. Smith
    Empire Of Storms
    Eric Walters
    Evie Blcakwell Cold Cases
    Falling Kingdoms
    Fatal Frost
    Fourth Dimension
    Frankenstein On The Modern Prometheus
    Gayle Trent
    Greg Kincaid
    Holly Jennings
    If I Run
    Jeff Mariotte
    Jennifer A. Nielsen
    Jennifer Donnelly
    J.L. Powers
    Joyful Inspirations
    Julie Kagawa
    Katara Washington Patton
    Kat Ross
    Kody Keplinger
    Last Stop In Brooklyn
    Laura James
    Lawrence H. Levy
    Lost In A Book
    M.A.Powers
    Mark Of The Thief
    Mary Handley
    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
    Meg Cabot
    Merchant Of Alyss
    Missing Persons
    Mitch Albom
    Morgan Rhodes
    Murder Takes The Cake
    Nancy Mehl
    Noelle
    On A Pale Horse
    Piers Anthony
    Psych's Guide To Crime Fighting For The Totally Unqualified
    Rachel Caine
    Randy Susan Meyers
    Remember Me
    Remembrance
    Roberta Clark
    Robin Mead
    Ruined
    Sarah J. Maas
    Seeker
    Shadow Falls
    Shadow Falls: The Beginning
    Shawn Spencer
    Stephanie Corfee
    Stormaster
    Talon
    Taran Matharu
    Tery Brooks
    The DUFF
    The Fourth Element Series
    The Gold Covenant
    The Great Library
    The Magic Of Xanth
    The Mediator
    The Midnight Sea
    The Nine
    The Novice
    The Parables Of Jesus
    The Riddle Of Foxwood Grange
    The Rule Of 3
    The Secrets Of Tree Taylor
    The Shannara Trilogy
    The Sword Of Shannara
    Thieves Of Fate
    Thomas Locke
    Threads Of Suspicion
    Throne Of Glass
    Tracy Townsend
    Traveler
    Tuesdays With Morrie
    Voices Of Dragons

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.