Those of us who grew up in difficult circumstances may well remember how it felt to watch the "rich people" go by in their fancy cars, going to their fancy schools, wearing their fancy clothes... well, you get the idea. Wesley Vandergrift is just such a "rich" boy. His mother, Imogene, is a billionaire, and she spoils Wesley to the point where he not only has no real idea of what real life is all about, but he's also miserable beyond words. He wants nothing more than to be like other kids.

Wesley's only real friend is young Amanda, whose mother, Maria, had been taking care of Wesley since infancy. And although they come from different sides of the tracks. Wesley and Amanda have one thing in common -- their fascination with Jack Mackey, "The Snake Stalker." Together they watch Aussie Mackey track down all kinds of serpents, revelling in his adventures and wishing they could be there with him.

But then one day Wesley's life changes. When a young veterinarian named Maggie comes to see about Wesley's dog, there is a hint of recognition between the two. In a subsequent visit to a ranch owned by the vet's parents, a story unfolds that will throw Wesley, his family and many others into a whirlwind of intrigue and discovery.

I can't say much more without giving away more than I intend. Suffice it to say that this is a powerhouse of a novel, mainly, I suspect, for mid- to older teens.

There are a few Mormon characters in this story, but they are not the main characters. And further, their Mormonism doesn't seem to play a big role in the assignment of virtue, or lack of such. How many LDS novels have I read where the good guys are all Mormons and the bad guys are gentiles! And how tiresome it gets -- the extreme binary view of virtue and piety that just isn't lived out in real life. There are good Mormons, but there are lots of good non-Mormons, too.

The author manages to introduce a wide variety of characters, and each is verbally painted to perfection. My old test -- can I close my eyes and picture what the character looks like? Without exception, this could be done with each of the players in this story. And further, some of the characters are sufficiently nuanced that it isn't always clear whose side they're on. Great writing!

So many themes play themselves out in this book. The importance of family, the role of faith (mostly in the background, you sometimes have to read between the lines to catch it), and the value of letting kids be kids. This was a big one for me -- I think children ought to be able to run and play and get dirty and even get scratched up now and then. Wesley discovers a whole new world when he finds himself doing chores for the first time!

When it comes to balancing faith issues, humor, and just good old fashioned story-telling, the author gets it all exactly right. I'm really tremendously impressed. Fogg is an excellent writer, keeping the reader's interest from one chapter to the next. I read the book in two sittings.

Without revealing any more, I can tell you that the ending of the story left open the possibility of a sequel. I hope there is one -- this is an author who deserves to be read by LDS teens looking for a fantastic read.

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Jeff Needle
January 15, 2006