The blurb
In 1939, a sole Jewish smuggler immigrates to America to preserve a heritage Hitler hoped to erase. In 1944, two spies enter the United States on a mission to track down one man and a treasure of missing Spanish gold. In 2014, the immigrant’s son, his mind deteriorating from dementia, disappears, but not before he leaves his grandson clues, thrusting him into a mystery seventy-five years in the making. Blake Nolan and his girlfriend set out to unravel clues that could not only set secrets from history right again but also lead to two priceless treasures. With his grandfather’s life in the balance and suspects hot on Blake’s trail, will what was lost be found in time?
About the author
Jeff LaFerney is currently a full-time language arts teacher where he lives in Davison, Michigan. After coaching basketball for most of his career, he decided to write books instead and took on his new hobby. Now he spends his free time reading, writing, and editing books. He and his beautiful wife have two young adult children. His Clay and Tanner Thomas series focuses on a father and son team who use parapsychological abilities to solve mysteries. Jumper is a time-travel science fiction adventure. Jeff also has a blog called The Red Pen where he usually infuses humor to share about himself or to give inspiration or writing tips. h1ttp://jefflaferney.blogspot.com/
The review
Lost and Found by Jeff LaFerney
This is the second book in about 30 days that I have read
with a YA male as the hero. I am very
impressed in finding more and more authors filling a very real gap in YA
reading. Not all readers are girls. So to find a good boy doing the right thing
is a positive reinforcement I cannot help but endorse.
The book is far more however than a simple plot line of a
hero saving the day.
It is about the effects of Dementia on a family, mother,
inflicted grandfather, and grandson. The
added stress of having a father on active duty abroad is totally overshadowed
by the very real problem of living with a person in the early phases of
dementia. I found this a stunning twist
and a very insightful one. I think fiction
is much like Mary Poppins; a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go
down. To raise awareness of day to day
life, the real import of the family unit, community etc is more readily
available for everybody let alone the youth when dressed up in a truly fast
paced plot.
The mystery part of this story is stunning, working against
the clock, saving riddles relayed by an old man with dementia to save that very
man’s life is what the main plot is all about.
Naturally we have a girl, a really nice one whom somewhat reminded me of
Hermione in Harry Potter, she is pretty, smart and unconcerned about life
outside of her own reality. Not
bothering trying to become prom queen, this girl is somebody who knows who she
is and likes what she sees, so do we, the readers.
The grandpa….awh. I
fell in love with him from the first mention.
I was rooting for him when all gave up.
Character development is really well done as is
setting. This town came alive for me and
the volunteers at the search and rescue added to my idea of rural America where
community still means something if not for some, everything.
The historic aspect is what got me to initially pick up this
book. I love WWII. I love the history, the conspiracy the
general “educated” guess work. Some of
these educated guess work really rings true and rocks.
All in all, a must read book aimed for the YA male but
accessible to all.
What makes this such a good read is the ease of reading, the
smoothness of plot.
Get a copy if you have a teen who wants to read but has
difficulty finding books for YA male’s.
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