Review of Odyssey of a Free Spirit

[Rosemary Wright]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Odyssey of a Free Spirit" by Rod Wilson.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Odyssey of a Free Spirit, by Rod Wilson, follows some kids and the extraordinary events in their lives. Lester and Karl, who are preteens, are close friends. Guy, a teenage giant, bullies Karl, and later on, somehow, he becomes friends with Karl and Lester. He becomes their protector. Lester's mother, Annetta, a district nurse, uses love and understanding to bring her son up, but Rosalyn, Karl's mother, believes in strict discipline. Hence, she and her husband, Alf (Karl's stepfather), assault Karl.

Annetta is not pleased with the harsh way Rosalyn raises Karl and therefore intervenes in the situation with the help of Lester and Guy. Afterwards, the situation gets out of hand. Rosalyn is injured and later runs off, leaving Karl with his stepfather. Meanwhile, Alf has been secretly molesting Karl with a price tag. Annetta seeks to adopt Karl, but Alf claims to be a changed man and wants Karl to keep staying with him. Will Annetta and her team members succeed in ensuring that Karl gets a good life as a kid? Is Alf really a changed man, or does he have other plans?

Exploring chiefly the themes of child abuse, violence, love, and true friendship, this historical fiction novel is easy to read. It's captivating from the beginning, which unveils Karl's bullying experiences. I enjoyed its conversations. Most of them are amusing. The kids in the story are quite witty. In addition, the story shows the terrible consequences of violence.

However, Odyssey of a Free Spirit is intriguing, but I don't like the fact that the kids included swear words in their dialogues, though some of the adults didn't like the usage. Furthermore, since it contains violence, gory scenes, and mentions of child abuse, sensitive readers may not enjoy reading it.

Regarding the characters, they are interesting and lifelike, both the good and bad ones. My favorite character is Annetta. She's a strong woman that has a heart of gold. I like the easy way she communicates with the boys. It seems as if she is their agemate. She tolerates their naughtiness, while she teaches them the good values of life with love and understanding.

Altogether, I rate Odyssey of a Free Spirit 4 out of 4 stars. I couldn't rate it lower because it's enlightening and entertaining. The kids' wittiness got me laughing most times. It's well written and edited, but I noticed some grammar errors and typos, which did not distract me. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories that discourage child abuse.

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Odyssey of a Free Spirit
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[Diana Lowery]

"I recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories that discourage child abuse." Hopefully, everyone would be in favor of discouraging child abuse, but I am not sure if I would enjoy reading about it in such a graphic way. Nice Review!