Double Book Review ~ The Island Unknown and The Mystery of the Golden Pocketwatch ~ by Gary Henicke

This was a good, quick read. I won the sequel to this novella, and the author was very kind and sent me this one as well.       This book is about a boy named Peter, who makes a promise to his grandfather to find Island Unknown, a place from a bedtime story Peter used to hear.        Peter doesn't leave for the island until a little over half-way through the book. This isn't a problem, because the early part of the story is necessary to the plot and is still very interesting. The book's plot moved quickly, and so there wasn't a slow part.        Peter's relationship with his grandfather was very important, and was why he wanted to find the island so badly. Peter's father had died when Peter was very young, and his grandfather raised him as if he were Peter's father. They were very close, and multiple times in the book it refers to Peter's grandfather as being Peter's 'father'.        At first I didn't like Peter's mother, she seemed always to be upset with Peter. This was because she was worried that Peter would disappear like his father in a quest for the Island. Later, she redeems herself by giving Peter permission to leave and telling him that she doesn't want them to always be mad at each other.        A book of exploration, and I don't read these often, I had forgotten how much I liked them. A few times I would have liked a few more details or more description, but this did not effect the story, which was very good. Peter is a likable character who I enjoyed reading about. I hope the author will write more books in this series. Link to the book on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Island-Gary-Henicke/dp/1477559981/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369685962&sr=1-5&keywords=island+unknown On Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15727228-island-unknown        I love how this author writes shorter books, they are a nice change from the thick classics that I have been reading more recently. This is the sequel to Island Unknown, and this book is about Peter four years after the first story.        In this book, Peter receives a package containing a watch that had belonged to his father, who had disappeared while on a search for Island Unknown. Peter's father had never been heard from after he started on his voyage. Peter goes on a quest to England to locate the sender of the watch. After he locates the man, he decides to discover if the man's claims about Peter's father's fate were true.        I only have two negative things to say about this book. The first one is the lack of detail. There were a few parts of the book where I would have liked more detail or more description. The details were not necessary to the plot of this story, but would have helped me visualize the scenes and what the characters were doing.        My other negative point is sentence structure. I am extremely sensitive to sentence variation. Most of the sentences either started with an -ly word, a name, or the word he. Though distracting at first, once you get into the story it isn't an issue.        The story was pleasant, and something that would be nice to read on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. The last 51 pages were my favorite, and I can't tell the reason without any spoilers. It was a great resolution to the problem of the story, and also very sweet.        This could easily be a trilogy, and I think a third book would be a great addition to the series. Amazon Link:http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Golden-Pocket-Watch-Exciting/dp/0615660568/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in Goodreads Link:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15738860-the-mystery-of-the-golden-pocket-watch For more reviews visit my Goodreads. Don't forget to follow!