Lines in the Sand by S C Montgomery--A Review

It's release day for Lines in the Sand, the prequel in the Crossing the Line series.

Genre: Young Adult

Lines in the Sand blurb:

Two best friends. One emotional adventure.

When Reed Young and Jonah King unearth some mysterious remains at their favorite beach hangout, their summer is thrust into an exciting tailspin.

Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they embark on a heartrending journey to find out the truth . . . and make it right.

But neither of them expected the secrets they would find.

***Reader note***While Lines in the Sand is a standalone novella, appropriate for younger readers with only some mild language, it is intended as a prequel to Two Blue Lines, which continues Reed Young’s story as he’s forced into a situation nobody wants to find themselves in at sixteen.  Read and enjoy at your own discretion.

Available now at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble available soon
iTunes
Google Play
Kobo

***

Excerpt:

Then, out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.

I couldn’t say why, it wasn’t large, or shiny. But it drew me. About two feet from where

Jonah had shifted the sand with his dumb foot, a tattered piece of fabric laid buried in the sand.

I knelt down and examined it.

Jonah sat up. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“I don’t know. Some cloth or something.” I inched closer and touched it, an eerie feeling

sliding through my body.

Jonah popped onto his knees and crawled over. “Lemme see . . .”

“No!” I held out a hand to stop him. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t want him to touch it.

“I got it.” I gave the fabric a tug and a big piece yanked free to whip in my hand with the wind.

We both looked it over. It was dingy, but it had obviously been white once with little

yellow flowers.

“What do you think it is?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” I said, but I somehow knew it was something. My heart began to pound

as I handed the cloth to Jonah and raked my fingers through the sand looking for a bigger piece.

We glanced over as someone on the beach gave a yell as they chased a Frisbee in the

warming beach air. The surf continued to pound the beach, the gulls continued their mournful

cries, the kids continued to build their castles. Someone’s barbeque scented the air.

Jonah and I looked at each other. He felt it, too. He nodded, indicating that I should

continue digging. It didn’t need to be spoken—this morning we were on a different journey. No

more kid stuff.

***

SC Montgomery is a self-proclaimed nerd and readaholic. She has dabbled in telling stories

since she was very young by letting her imagination play out with her Barbie dolls and her bestie

many a weekend. She also writes Contemporary adult romance under the pen name Shauna

Allen, and it was in one of those novels that the YA bug bit when she wrote in a teenager loosely

based on her own son. Her first story, The Summer of Lettie, was penned as a gift for her mother,

but was published with her blessing, and it’s just taken off from there.

SC is married with three teenagers of her own, who give her plenty of inspiration and advice,

and are a constant source of laughter and new terminology. Besides writing, she loves reading,

movies, singing and dancing reality shows and going to the beach.

You can sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/RLQQz

Website: www.scmontgomery.com

Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SC-Montgomery/1391985747741505?

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Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sc.montgomery.3

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SC_Montgomery

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/29804825-sc-montgomery

Instagram: http://instagram.com/sc_montgomery

Email: author@scmontgomery.com



FROM MY PERSPECTIVE:

This is what I would consider a short story about two pre-teen boys and an adventure they shared one summer.   In my humble opinion, any 10-12 yr old would enjoy reading this.   Lines In the Sand is S C Montgomery's 1st venture into Young Adult literature and in this first installment of the Crossing the Line Series, there are no adult themes And no bad language.    However, we are introduced to the main characters in the series.

Reed Young and his best friend, Jonah King, find a buried bone at their favorite spot on the beach and as young imaginations run wild, they try to solve the mystery of the buried bones.  Hearsay and local legend play a big part in their solving the mystery, with the outcome revealing secrets very close to home.

It's an intriguing and enjoyable story with some life lessons for the boys and the reader.

I rated this a 4 Wink read, only because it was so short, I could not squeeze out a 5.

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like. I received an ARC complimentary copy from the author or the author’s representatives in exchange for an honest review.