Reviews

Leepike Ridge

Tom was only looking for a bit of time to himself, away from his mother and the man who’s courting her, when he embarked on his ride down the river on a slab of packing foam. Now, though, he’s been sucked into a series of stream, falls, and pools under the mountain outcrop, discovered a dead body, picked up an equally distressed dog, and been plucked up at last by a fellow castaway, Reg, deep beneath the mountain. Reg has spent the last three years surviving on albino crawdads and plotting a way out, and as the man (Reg) and eleven-year-old (Tom) compare stories, they discover not only a pivotal family connection but also reason to believe that the persons who murdered Tom’s father and left Reg for dead in the cave are probably on Tom’s tail and persecuting his mother above ground. This is a ripping good adventure yarn, made even better by its loose but clever patterning on the Odyssey, with the widow fending off villainous suitors and clinging to the belief that her beloved will make his way home and the voyager passing through the underworld before returning to claim his kingdom—in this case rights to the archaeological treasure buried beneath the mountain. Villains are deliciously stupid and nasty, the toggles between above and below ground action are deftly paced, and even the nature of the treasure—evidence that pre-Columbian Asiatic peoples arrived in North America by ship—is intriguing. Here’s the perfect remedy for any summer that’s been disappointingly short on thrills—The Bulletin[starred]
Eleven-year-old Tom Hammond lives with his widowed mother in a windblown old house chained to the top of a gigantic rock. One night, unable to sleep, he heads down to the stream that borders their property, where he has left a heavy piece of refrigerator packing foam. What starts out as aimless drifting down quiet water turns deadly when Tom's foam slab feeds into the rougher mountain water and he is pulled under a rock, ending up in an underwater cavern. The secrets he discovers while attempting to find his way out of the mountain caves are surprising, yet seamlessly executed. While Leepike Ridge is primarily an adventure story involving murder, treachery, and betrayal, Wilson's rich imagination and his quirky characters are a true delight. Tom's feisty mother will not believe that her son has drowned despite the evidence to the contrary, and her run-ins with various townspeople are jewels in themselves. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep both seasoned and reluctant readers turning the pages. Think Mark Twain with a contemporary and utterly captivating twist
—School Library Journal
Eleven-year-old Tom Hammond is not happy with his mother's choice of a possible future fiancé; Mr. Veatch is not only a teacher, but he's pretty gross. One night, Tom just wants to get away from the house and his mother for awhile, but he ends up stuck in an underground cave with a dead man and an injured dog. Using the dead man's headlamp, Tom looks for a way out and ends up finding history, personal and national. Meanwhile, Elizabeth, his mother, is certain her son is alive. She tries to get help, but the only people willing to "help" are unscrupulous treasure seekers. Tom not only escapes the caves with the dog and a new friend, he also helps to save his mother from Mr. Veatch and the treasure hunters. Wilson's debut is a literate, sometimes humorous page-turner in the classic tradition. Well-read adventure lovers are in for a treat looking for echoes of The Odyssey and Tom Sawyer. While not the best option for reluctant readers, this is still a strong choice for every type of library.
—Kirkus Reviews