4 out of 4 stars
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Will of the Hill by Marshall Cobb is a story about a young boy named Will. This is the first volume in the Will of the Hill series. The story is set in a small town on the foot of a hill and a school on top of the hill.
Will and his best friend, Dillon, are very fond of comic books which are not allowed in the school. And, there is Gertrude, a girl who is always ready to tell on Will. Will’s major concern is to hide his comic book. Later, Gertrude finds out about the comic book and threatens him; that she will inform Ms. Early if he fails to bring Dillon on her birthday party. From this threat, he assumes that she has a crush on Dillon. On the contrary, Dillon thinks that she has a crush on Will. So, the controversy goes on until Gertrude speaks out the truth at the party.
This book contains several themes concerning the issues that the kids are facing like bullying, puberty, school life, life in a small town, etc. For example, Will always talks about his fear of reaching the stage of puberty. This is exactly how we all felt when we grew up. The boring school days are portrayed well in this book. And, regarding the issue of bullying, its actual face is revealed in this story. It is portrayed that the kids who bully are behaving in that way, not because they are strong, but because they are insecure. They act aggressively to compensate for their missing self-esteem and self-value. This is clearly shown when Gertrude made the confession at the party.
Speaking about the structure and style of this book, it has a humorous tone. I enjoyed the book very much; it takes me back to my childhood. I found myself laughing out when I read about the account of ‘Ceptain America’. It was funny to imagine Will carrying his lunch box proudly with the misspelt tag. The way the author explains about the school bus and its everyday journey up the hill has an adventurous thrill. Any kid will be immediately captivated. It was also interesting that the author inserts some of the legends related with the creation of the hill.
Though the book is for kids, I would recommend it for parents as well, because this book talks about the feelings and the problems that their kids are facing. They may get what they are missing about their kids who are in the transitional period of becoming a teenager.
Throughout the book, there was no hindrance in the flow of the plot. It gets more interesting towards the end of the book. I believe that the following book in this series will also be very interesting. I found only a couple of errors. But, the mistakes didn’t disturb my reading at all. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
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Will of The Hill
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