Badge of Honor by Susan Marlow

A quick search for “Susan Marlow” on my blog will yield you the links to many past posts, sharing my thoughts on her great fiction books for children.  My girls and I have much enjoyed reading about Andrea (Andi) Carter in the Circle C Adventure series.  Susan’s series for young readers, about a young Andi, were also very much enjoyed. 

Now, I’m pleased to announce that Susan has a brand new series out – this one a little more geared toward boys.  This new series is called Goldtown Adventures and the first book is AVAILABLE NOW! 

In Badge of Honor, twelve-year-old Jem Coulter knows that the gold rush is over since the last of it was panned. But when an old prospector named Strike finds flecks of gold in their claim on Cripple Creek, Jem hopes that maybe they can strike it rich.

When Jem's father accepts the job of sheriff for their lawless town, it's up to Jem to keep their broken-down ranch running. But Strike suddenly goes missing and the Creek mysteriously dries up, and Jem is determined to find out why. Will Jem be able to manage the responsibility of the ranch and discover the mystery of what is going on at the Creek?

The goal was to read this book aloud to Ian, but he was not paying any attention.  Truth be told, I’m kinda glad it worked out that way, because it allowed me the opportunity to curl up in bed with this book and finish it more quickly, on my own. 

And I confess – I don’t care if this book is geared toward 8-12 year olds.  I loved it!  It held my interest the entire time, and the plot twists had me guessing ‘til the end.

If you have a young boy (or girl - the main character in this series is a boy, but his younger sister has a recurring role and the story is definitely interesting enough for girls too), I’d highly recommend getting him started on this new series!

You can read some sample chapters here. If you decide to buy the book, you’ll also benefit from downloading the free study guide.