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Book Review

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Publisher's Note:

Bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing. One summer. 46 mountain peaks. A second chance to make things right. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn's about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady's headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother's dog, and they can call it even. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.…

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The Trouble With Heroes

by Kate Messner

Reviewer: Cindy M
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Age: 12+

Overall Book Review:

Author Kate Messner digs deep into heavy themes: death of a parent, substance abuse, conflicted feelings about the character’s relationship to his father, and the burden of being a hero and the aftermath that most people never see. This is all, well, a lot. However, the format of the book is a bit of a mash-up with photos, notes to teachers, poems for a make-up school assignment, letters, recipes, and basically a journal of Finn’s thoughts and hikes. There is plenty of white space on the page and the hikes clip by at a rapid pace so this somewhat balances out the heavy thematic material. Finn is an angry and unhappy person, and he doesn’t have a favorable opinion of himself.

Set in the mountains, the changes Finn undergo are gradual, but it is great to read a book where the healing process is facilitated by the great outdoors. As a society, we all probably need more of that. The author also deftly brings the narrative full circle with some connections that make sense and do not feel contrived. This novel would make for a great discussion or book club read. Readers will have plenty to think about and will probably be hungry for a cookie with an urge to hike a mountain by the time they are done.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy Provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 7 religious exclamations.

Violence/Gore: Several references throughout the book to the events of 9-11; minor scrapes, bruises, and injuries from trips and falls; character is attacked by some insects resulting in minor injuries; encounter with a wild animal the results in injuries to the character, severe enough for hospitalization, descriptions are general.

Sex/Nudity: None

Mature Subject Matter:

PTSD, Alcohol/Drug addiction, death of a parent, vandalism, economic distress, 9-11, COVID-19 pandemic.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Reference to AA and the card members carry; toxicology report (refers to presence/non-presence of alcohol/drugs); several references to a couple of individuals who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction in the past; reference to empty alcohol bottles.

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
1
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
2
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
0
10

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About the Reviewer

Cindy M
An accountant and CPA by profession, I found myself a book reviewer for Squeaky Clean Reads by happenstance. When the opportunity came to transform that website into Compass Book Ratings, I was excited to seize it and meld my business background with my love of books. As the mother of three teenage sons, I have read a large number of children and young adult books and I believe that there is great value in a content review service. As much as we would love to read everything our children read, there just isn’t enough time. I also appreciate being able to select books for myself that are really worth my precious and limited reading time. I believe there is a book out there for everyone–they just have to find it!

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