Aric Davis

This book puzzled me. The basic idea was solid but I found the nexus of the characters to be contrived and manipulative. For me, the only realistic relationship at all was the one between the two most dysfunctional characters and I guess that says it all. I found the Holocaust connection to be bizarre and totally unnecessary. The ending is not, which is to say yet one more author who seems unable to write a novel. Hello, series my old friend. Not. Incredibly tired of authors who do this. Instalment plan writing. The worse part of it all is that it allows tons of unnecessary dross to clog up the pages. Who cares? Five more books planned.… (more)

The line in chapter 56 about looking into the kids' eyes made me cringe. Everything after it was too preachy. I also found the dialogue for the kids to be way too adult for their age. The story was ok. I started to get annoyed with Tim's parents and it felt like a forced plot device to keep me turning pages.

I did like how it made me reminisce about summer and playing in the woods though. There was a good line I wish I had highlighted where one of the kids is thinking that if being an adult means having the feeling of freedom that he had while walking through the woods, it would be great. If only. The older I get, the less time I have to sit in trees feeling pleasantly bored.… (more)

Nickel Plated was definitely a lot different than anything I've read lately. Nickel is the type of character that only comes along once in a while, because he's a little bit tough to love. In fact it took me a few chapters to really get into who he was, but once I was invested in him I learned a lot. He's self-sufficient and has financial freedom that most people my age dream about. On top of that he is so multi-faceted. A hard kid on the exterior, but a lost little boy who just is looking for something to hold onto on the interior.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book other than that I enjoyed it. It's a different kind of read because I was following Nickel on his money making ventures and sleuthing most of the time. He's a great kid. Granted he often uses people for money, but he does some really touching things in this book to help other people out as well. Watching him lead his own life was really fascinating. Nickel has to fly under the radar to stay out the foster care system. To say he is a smart kid is an understatement.

The point is that I enjoyed this book, but I also think that it wasn't really for me at this time. I'm kind of torn between enjoying Nickel and feeling like he was kind of a hard character to love. I see that he has to act like an adult because that's the situation that he's been put in, however he just felt so tough sometimes. It's a hard read for sure. I really just wanted to give him a hug. This book contains some tough subjects, as well as some "colorful" language. Perhaps it just wasn't the right time for me to read it.

I'm going to keep this on my pile and pick it up again in a bit, but for now I'm going to give a middle of the road rating. I liked Nickel, I liked his story, I think my mind just wasn't in the right place to really appreciate this book.… (more)