Assessment:

Plot: The reader will likely find Carter's book of night-time boyhood adventures charming, if they can look past the norms of 1950's Arkansas, which can verge on gun-obsessive, with some racist, and sexist themes. However uncomfortable this setting may be for certain readers, it is honest to the time. This narrative is, at its heart, a fun (and at times terrifying) story about three best friends who really want to check out a haunted house.

Prose: Carter captures the slang of Arkansas (and even has a cute moment where Denver-based mom chastizes her son for his country twang) very well, and his settings are magnificent. The one place where he could improve is sometimes during the dialogue - it can get confusing telling which person is talking, and occasionally there are pages of dialogue at once, which the reader may end up skimming over. Breaking up the dialogue with descriptions of the characters reactions, changes in the setting, etc. could really assist in making these interactions more engrossing for the reader.

Originality: The reader will likely find Carter's story compelling and unique. Stories written in the deep South are fairly uncommon, especially from the perspective of haunted house hungry little boys in the 1950s. This book felt antique, autumnal, and crisp without mimicking other famous novels set during the same era or time of year.

Character/Execution: Carter does an excellent job of describing characters and their motivations. The reader will be impressed with the authenticity of the friendship between the three protagonists. The author likely has pulled from his own experiences as a youth growing up in Arkansas, and this has given him a frame of reference that makes for very genuine relationships in his novel.

Date Submitted: June 29, 2021