By Colorado Kids Advisory Board member Tracey Thompson

Title: A Hole in the World
Author: Sid Hite
Illustrator: None
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Number of Pages: 204

In A Hole in the World, by Sid Hite, a 15 year-old boy named Paul Shackleford is sent to Virginia to live on a relative's farm as a punishment for lying. Strange things begin to happen there when he meets a beautiful girl named Rebecca, a sometimes annoying dog named Einstein, and hears about a beloved farmhand named Hennley, who died of cancer. Hennley's ghost was believed to haunt the farm.

In one particularly exciting adventure, Paul is going on an after dinner hike when he runs into a storm. A bolt of lightning strikes. He hears a voice calling his name, and then, "Are you leaving too?". Then the storm dissipated, but Paul wonders, "What does that mean," Leaving too?""You'll be surprised at what other adventures Paul has while he is there.

One thing I liked about this book is that it had very interesting characters, with strange personalities. The author, Sid Hite, had a creative way of writing. One thing I didn't like was that the plot wasn't always eventful, so your mind would wander and think, "What am I going to have for lunch today?" and you loose track of where you are in the story. But all in all, I would recommend this book highly, because it is very well written. It deserves a 9 out of 10, because it is almost there, but not quite. Kids age 10 and up would enjoy this book very much. (December, 2001)