Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are a handful of hell’s and damn’s scattered throughout the book.  There are also about 10 expressions involving Deity.  The words piss and fricking are used and Oscar says, “I learned a few bad words and I strung them all together.”

Violence:  Oscar’s mother is killed in an explosion.  Two armed men with guns break into the bank to rob it.  They blindfold the watchman and hit him over the head.  They shoot their guns and try to catch Oscar but Oscar escapes.  The robbers shoot the watchman in the head and in the heart.  There is blood everywhere.  Oscar remembers the robbery throughout the book, a little more detail each time.  Cyril tries to capture Oscar.

Adult Themes:  There is smoking and drinking by adults.  Oscar (as a child in a young adult body) thinks he could at least ask for a beer.  Reference is made to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the beginning of the war.  The stock market crash and the depression that followed are also touched on.  Oscar’s father loses his job and their house.  Oscar has to live with his aunt.

Synopsis

Oscar lives with his Dad in a home in Illinois.  Together they enjoy the hobby of putting together model train sets.  Then the stock market crashes and Oscar’s dad loses his job, their house and their beloved train set.  When Oscar’s dad leaves in search of work, Oscar is forced to live with his aunt who is a stern and cold lady.  Oscar meets a stranger one day who becomes a real friend to him.  The stranger teaches him poems and helps him with his math.  Then one day Oscar witnesses a horrible crime that begins a series of time-hopping events on a train called the Blue Comet.  This time-hopping takes Oscar on adventures where he meets new people, gains valuable information and helps change the course of some events for his family.

I enjoyed reading this book.  I received a copy from Candlewick Press for review.  I loved the color pictures throughout the book.  They really gave me a good visual picture of the characters and events.  I always enjoy books that have a historical setting and this book touched on many key events in our nation’s history.  It would be a good stepping stone to helping kids learn about these events in more detail.  This story was one of adventure and imagination.  I also enjoyed reading the poem If by Rudyard Kipling.  It’s a great one and I might just like to memorize it myself.  This book has a recommended reading age of about 4^th-8^th grade.  My only gripe about the book is the language.  I really thought it unnecessary.  Especially if a 9 year old is reading it.  Here are my favorite lines from the book.  It reminded me of my grandparents who had memorized more poems than I can count.  “Poetry gets you through the hardest times, Oscar.  It’s like a tonic.  The world has forgotten poetry and how it heals the soul and body, too.”