Review: "Celtic Run", a school-age novel by Sean Vogel

I was sent a copy of the novel Celtic Run by Sean Vogel to read and review. This novel is for ages 8 and up.  It tells the story of 14-year-old Jake McGreevy and his friends during a summer exchange to Ireland.  When they first arrive, they find a clue to a possible Spanish treasure lost long ago.  They wind up in a mystery adventure, chased by thieves and thugs, as they search for more clues and possibly their fortune.

This novel was a nice read.  I could see kids being swept up in the story.  There were a few romantic parts as well, as Jake reveals his crush on his best gal pal (Julie) and later on with the daughter of his host family (Maggie).  I think this adds a bit to the story to make girls enjoy the tale just as much as the boys.  There isn't a lot of back story to the characters, but it is a suitable read for middle school aged kids, I would think maybe 9 - 11 year olds would be the best target audience.  I find the grade seven and eight students at my school go for meatier tales than this provides.

I think kids can get lost in the excitement of other kids going on a fantastical adventure searching for buried treasure.  It would be fun for them to be swept away into Jake's experience in beautiful Ireland.  It's nice to see the growth of the characters over the course of the story as well.

The front cover of the book says, A Jake McGreevy Novel, which makes me think that perhaps Sean Vogel is planning on writing additional stories with this character.  I would be interested to read more stories about Jake, if only to get a better sense of who he is.  There is some character development in this story, but it is mostly driven by the plot.  I'd like to read more to gain an even greater connection to this little crew of characters.  I find the students at my school highly enjoy reading a series of books, so it would be great to watch and see if Sean Vogel writes a sequel.

Book Purchase Links and Details

Amazon

Paperback

http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Run-Sean-Vogel/dp/096241669X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336253114&sr=8-1

Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Jake-McGreevy-Novel-ebook/dp/B007TERVL6/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1336253114&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble

Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/celtic-run-sean-vogel/1109795351?ean=9780962416675

iBook (eBook with no audio)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/celtic-run/id520553710?mt=11

ibook (fixed layout with audio – coming soon)

Tales2Go members can download the audio from www.tales2go.com

Website links

Author: www.seanvogel.com

Publisher: www.mbpublishing.com

www.facebook.com/seanvogelauthor

www.facebook.com/mbpublishing

twitter: @mbpublishing

Giveaway: Win an Amazon Kindle Fire! {CLOSED}

In celebration of Sean Vogel's new novel for those ages 8 and up, Celtic Run, you have the chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire, or other amazing prizes such as signed copies of this new book or a code to download the book for free at PICPOCKET BOOKS, courtesy of MB Publishing!

Here's a synopsis for Celtic Run:

Jake, a 14-year-old gadget whiz, didn’t plan on a summer full of treasure, thieves, and danger. He just got lucky.

While in Ireland on a class trip, Jake stumbles upon the first clue to a treasure missing from the Spanish Armada. Jake sees the riches as his chance to buy back the family sailboat and restore a piece of the life he enjoyed before his father was critically injured in an accident. Desperate to find the treasure, Jake teams up with Zach, his nemesis and class bully, and two girls in a clue-hunting chase across the Dingle Peninsula.



Dodging would-be thieves, exchanging wisecracks with Zach, and concocting ingenious devices to get them out of scrapes, Jake leads the team as they connect piece after piece to the more than 400-year-old mystery.

Read an excerpt and meet the author at MB Publishing: http://www.mbpublishing.com/excerpt-chapter-1.html, http://www.mbpublishing.com/author-sean-vogel.html, 

Learn more about Celtic Run: http://www.seanvogel.com 

Meet the editor, Emma Walton Hamilton: http://www.mbpublishing.com/editor-emma-walton-hamilton.html 

Watch the book trailer: http://www.mbpublishing.com/celtic-run-book-trailer.html

There are four ways to enter this WORLDWIDE giveaway, on the Rafflecopter widget below!

• “Like” Seanvogelauthor on facebook
• “Like” MBpublishing on facebook
• Follow @MBpublishing on twitter
• Sign up for MB Publishing's newsletter at:http://www.mbpublishing.com/newsletter.html

I'm going to personally review this book, as soon as my copy arrives!  The contest ends June 5th, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Latest Reading Obsession

Mr. Lock's mom and I like to share books.  We should just form a true book club, honestly.  She recently began to loan me the first few books in a series she read awhile back, a series that consists (so far) of seven books.  She just expected me to give them a try... but frankly... I am IN LOVE with these books now!  I'm about half-way through the third story.

They are the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon.  They are sort of sci-fi, historical fiction, romance, mystery,    sex, intrigue, hard-to-identify-exactly-what-genre.  Even Gabaldon herself says she has trouble identify which genre she's writing!  I was gripped really early on in the first book, and have been zipping through them as fast as you can zip through 700+ page books.  The series is not "new", seeing as they are already seven published novels... with an eighth expected to come out in 2013... but they are new to me and I really love them!

The main characters are Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser.  They have a love story that I'm hooked on.  Let's just say there's some time travelling, and then an intense war in the Scottish Highlands in the 18th century, more time travel... and oh-so-much sexy stuff it'll make you blush if you're the type who does!

With each book the adventure changes, and the time period changes a bit too.  It's really interesting, and I'm eager to see which direction Gabaldon will take her characters next.  It's not a predictable story by any means, and I'm just absolutely gripped.  It probably helps that I love historical fiction, as well.

So, if I'm not around much (and you've probably noticed I've been slacking on the blog, sigh!), it's because I'm dreamily lost in Inverness and Edinburgh in 1766 with my Scottish traitor, Jamie, and his beloved Sassenach Claire.  Sigh!  I love a good love story!

Reading anything good lately?!  I love getting lost in a great book, and if it turns out it's a whole series... all the better!