Another Man's Treasure by Charles R. Hall

"That is the new name of your company...It's like my Uncle Lou used to say about stuff at tag sales: "One man's junk...is another man's treasure.'"
          -Orel Hughes, from the novel

Another Man's Treasure was suggested by one of our Page Turners whose neighbor is the author's mother. She was even able to order autographed copies of the book for those of us who wanted them. The setting was very familiar to us Central Floridians---a beach community on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Names of establishments like the Gulf Oasis Motel and the Sunset Tavern seemed believable.

Throughout the first several chapters I had a difficult time getting into the book and wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was challenging to identify with the preteen main characters or that some of the dialect didn't ring true to me or that I was confused by the shifting of the story from one subplot to another so abruptly. Somewhere past the halfway point when the plot really got rolling, I became involved and found myself wanting to finish as opposed to needing to, in order to lead the discussion. Even so, I'll rate the book a 3.

Orel Hughes was a mysterious character at first but became my favorite as he seemed to be a transformative influence on most of those around him. Twelve-year-old Lucy was an enigma to me---mature at one point and playing Barbies at another, seeming a tomboy for much of the story but turning into quite a romantic at times. She won me over at the end as she tried to live out Orel's advice: "As long as you go out there and ripple the pond, everything will be fine, sweetie."

I don't want to spoil the plot but let me say it is multi-faceted and keeps you turning the pages near the end. The themes of greed and redemption make it a worthwhile read. I look forward to hearing what the group will have to say on Thursday. I'll revisit this entry with the results.
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As often happens in our meetings, some of us thought our discussion was better than the book!  Our average rating was 3.4. We used 8 thought-provoking questions composed by the member who suggested the book. When we got to strengths and weaknesses, folks had a lot to say. We decided on the plus side the characters were pretty well-defined and the plot was believable. Also the locale was familiar to us. Many of us agreed that the tempo seemed off with the beginning being quite slow and the ending moving perhaps too rapidly. I wasn't the only one who took a while getting into the story and others agreed that at first the child characters were not as interesting. One person suggested the theme was Orel's idea of the "ripple effect." I guess you will have to read it to see if you agree.

I'd love to see your comments!