4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Will of The Hill is a funny and lighthearted children’s book with 93 pages and 11 chapters. It is written in the third person and tells the story of a ten-year-old fifth grader named Will. The story is set in a small town where secrets never stay secrets, and the children have to ride a rocket-powered bus to get to the school on top of a mountain called, The Hill.
All Will wants to do is read comic books with best friend Dillon. But, Will can never catch a break because Gertrude, who he is forced to sit next to on the bus every day to school, is always looking for an opportunity to get him into trouble with their teacher, Ms. Early. Nicknamed Intrude, Gertrude is described as a walking invasion of privacy and space. Not that there is much privacy or space since almost all of the children’s parents work for the lunch box factory. The lunch box factory makes up the town's entire industry and only has one competitor, the paper bag factory in the neighboring town.
Things go downhill for Will when Gertrude discovers his secret stash of comics in the schoolyard and begins blackmailing him. The price of keeping her mouth shut is one Will is reluctant to pay. He has until Gertrude’s birthday, which is only days away, to act. Unless he wants to scrape away gum and boogers, as punishment, for the next couple of weeks.
Will of The Hill is perfect for middle-grade readers, or children who are beginning to read longer novels. Even though I am much older than this, I enjoyed the book a lot. Marshall Cobb does a great job of taking the reader through what goes on in the mind of a ten-year-old boy. Moreover, he writes in a way that allows the reader to fully engage with the other characters in the book as well.
One of the characters I loved was Mr. Joe, the bus driver. He is also the gatekeeper, and the gym teacher, and the rocket-engine mechanic, and the shop teacher, and the watchman, and the custodian. Did I mention how small their town is? Anyway, Mr. Joe makes a few appearances throughout the book, but he lights up every scene he is in. So does Mr. Claussen, who teaches math even though he is really a history teacher. And Frankie, who is always digging his nose for boogers, as well as skinny Jimmy, athletic Grace, and many other characters. It’s the little details that Cobb weaved into each and every character, no matter the role, that made me feel the character development was almost too good for a children’s book.
Will of the Hill is a coming of age story. Most of the children are at that tender age just before puberty hits, when boys still think kissing girls is disgusting, and girls cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the strange feelings they are beginning to have toward boys. Compared to what I have to deal with now as an adult, the book was definitely refreshing to read. I mean, Will considered it a betrayal when Dillon admitted that a girl smelled nice. I wish what I now consider betrayal was still that innocent!
I am glad to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There was little that I did not like about it. I found less than five errors, and these did not make me enjoy the book any less. I thought the ending was perfect since Will of the Hill is the first book in the series. The ending provided a good conclusion but also left me wanting more. Even though the book is clearly for young readers, I think anyone looking for a quick and light read will enjoy it.
******
Will of The Hill
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Ever_Reading's review? Post a comment saying so!
