Beneath by Roland Smith

Roland Smith is known for his fantastic adventure stories, and readers will not be disappointed with this one!  I was intrigued by the dedication of Beneath (Lexile: HL 610; Interest Level: Gr. 5-9) to his wife Marie, in which he refers to this book as a Christmas Story.  It certainly made reading more interesting (and, no, I won't tell you how it is a Christmas story!).

Pat O'Toole, known to his brother as Meatloaf, has always looked up to his brother Cooper (aka Coop), and when he gets recorded messages from Coop a year after Coop left home, he is glad to be back in touch.  However, when those recordings stop coming, Pat knows he must go to New York to find out what happened to his brother.  From tap dancing beneath bridges to the grand underground tunnels of New York City, this is an underground adventure that will keep you on your toes!  It is certainly a good addition to the 2016-2017 Indian Paintbrush Nominee list.

Fans of Roland Smith's other stories, as well as anyone looking for a good adventure and story of the bond between brothers will love this story.  As for a good Christmas book?  I will let you decide.  (272 p.)

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