Official Review: Todd by Cynthia Ulmer

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kandscreeley
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Official Review: Todd by Cynthia Ulmer

Post by kandscreeley »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Todd" by Cynthia Ulmer.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Todd is book one of the Cedar Cove Chronicles by Cynthia Ulmer. The books take place in 1943 in a small town in North Carolina called Cedar Cove. World War II is ongoing and affects even a small town such as this one. Being such a small town, many of the townspeople are farmers, and the preacher runs the local store.

This book focuses on the Jansan family, specifically their son Todd. Todd Jansan is only 10 and doesn’t know much about the war, except that his Uncle Clyde is off fighting somewhere. Clyde returns home from the war suddenly one day, but he seems to be keeping secrets. Todd doesn’t quite know what’s going on, but he knows there is tension between Clyde and his father. There is also a problem with the Jansans’ neighbors, the Hammonds’. Horace Hammond gets drunk often and likes to hold his children over the well by their feet. Todd as well as his sisters are scared of Mr. Hammond, and none of them are allowed on his property for fear of what he may do. Everyone is afraid that one day, he’ll go too far.

In first looking at the synopsis of the plot, I was a little afraid that I would be bored while reading this novel. I enjoy books that have some type of action, and I wasn’t sure that Todd would hold up in that regard. However, the author has enough mystery along with a few twists and turns to really keep the reader interested. The pace, while a little slower, is steady enough that I was able to stay engaged.

While the mysteries kept my attention, my favorite part of this novel was the characters. Todd is a delightful young boy who, while not overly troublesome, gets in his fair share of scrapes. His sisters Libby and Lilly Jean do not start off with much of a role, but they become more important as the novel continues. I found myself laughing with the family, crying with the family, and even getting upset for the family. To me, one of the gifts in writing is to be able to make your audience feel what the characters themselves feel. Ms. Ulmer makes this novel enjoyable by making her characters relatable.

The only real drawback to this book is the errors found throughout the story. Unfortunately, there were more than a few errors that would easily be taken care of by a more thorough reading. Not only were there grammatical errors, but in some instances it looks like the auto capitalization feature went a little wild. When the character’s name included initials (such as T.H.) the next word would be capitalized even if in the middle of a sentence. This is something that really should have been caught and corrected.

While the story itself does not sound like much, the author weaves in a little mystery, liberally adds some great characters, and makes an endearing tale that I would recommend highly. Because of the errors, I am not able to give this book a perfect score, so I give this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I am pleased to say that I enjoyed reading this book. I believe that it would appeal to a wide range of people, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the characters in this town in the books to come.

******
Todd
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Sounds like a very enjoyable book with delightful and interesting characters. Too bad, though, about the errors. It seems the book needs another round of editing. Good job on the review.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Thanks Kimmy. It does need a little more editing, but it's still a good story.
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Post by Shelle »

Great review! This book (and series) sounds like it could be a good one with a little help from a good editor. Before doing reviews I had no idea how important good editing was and now I appreciate it so much!
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

It's true. Good editing can make all the difference. It's interesting, though, how often the editing is lacking.
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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

I really love the character development. This is part of the enchantment of book-reading - when you are able to truly meet and intermingle with people in a life situation different from your own. Authors that produce characters so real you wish you really were neighbors are rare.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

You are right about that. Great character development is hard to find, but this author does it really well. Thanks :)
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Post by Guppy »

Sounds like a good story and a promising start to a series! Shame about the auto capitalisation pattern though, repeated mistakes like that drive me nuts.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Yeah, the book could use a little more editing, but it was still a worthwhile read!
A book is a dream you hold in your hands.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

The capitals in the middle of the sentence were not the only errors. There were also grammatical errors throughout the book, however as I pointed out in my review, this book is still worth reading.
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Post by Elaine5 »

It's always a pleasure to read a book with great characters, but always disappointing to encounter multiple errors. It's surprising how common errors are when they seem like such an easy fix. Makes me want to reach for a red pen! Thanks for your review!
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Thanks Elaine.
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Post by Meribooksandcats »

Good review, but if the author didn't care enough to properly edit, then I won't be reading this one.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Thanks Meri! It's still worthy of reading.
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Post by Acwoolet »

Nice review! It doesn't sound like a book that I normally would pick up to read, but your review does a good job of selling its qualities. Too bad about the errors, that can really take away from the quality of the book.

-- 08 Mar 2017, 14:17 --

Nice review! It doesn't sound like a book that I normally would pick up to read, but your review does a good job of selling its qualities. Too bad about the errors, that can really take away from the quality of the book.
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