CORANNA ADAMS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Film
  • Contact

Book Review: The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid

4/20/2018

Comments

 
Picture
A fast read, this novel is a fun peek into France in the early sixties. The language is simple, and the story focus small. I'll admit, I didn't fall in love, but I had fun reading while it lasted.
The novel centers around Charlie, the main character, who is the young, soft-spoken son of an important diplomat. Mostly left to his own devices, Charlie spends his days avoiding his tutor and exploring downtown Marseilles. 

One day Charlie witnesses a robbery and realizes in the same moment that he was one of the robbers' marks. Excited by his proximity to the crime, Charlie defends one of the criminals to the local police, thereby earning himself an unexpected friend.
I remember the feeling, from my childhood, of becoming involved in a secret dream, and then allowing that dream to take hold and let a deeper part of myself grow into being. Colin Meloy captures that same excitement and determination in this novel. Charlie has found a country to which he wants to belong, a gang to which he wants membership, and he sets about trying to become one of the whiz mob. 
The illustrations in the novel are done by Colin Meloy's wife, Carson Ellis. They're unique, stylistic vision of the book lends the story a strong aesthetic that only further's the novel's comprehensive world-building.
My favorite part of The Whiz Mob was that the author rifled my pockets twice, totally by surprise. Misdirection works! I appreciate when a book can do the thing it purports to be telling a story about, and with all eyes watching, it's a pretty sleight-of-hand. Final word: if you're headed to the beach, take this book along for a bit of mischievous, totally harmless fun. 
Comments

    Author

    Coranna Adams is a writer, filmmaker, and educator from Asheville, North Carolina.

    Tweets by @corannaadams

    Archives

    October 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    Anklyosing Spondylitis
    Arthur Rackham
    Auto-immune Condition
    Body Awareness
    Collaborative Learning
    Design
    Design Education
    Fairies
    Fritjof Capra
    Generation X
    Healing Arthritis
    Inspiration
    Integral Education
    Integral Thinking About Health
    Metacognition In Children
    Moons
    New World Order
    Nonviolent Communication
    Parenting For Peace
    Second Tier Thinking
    Second-tier Thinking
    Story
    Systems Thinking
    Titania

    RSS Feed

Site Copyright Coranna Adams, 2014 all rights reserved. Do not copy or reproduce without permission.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Film
  • Contact