LitPick Review
The Abilene Kid: Dead Man's Hand is an adventure book written by John V. Madormo that is a captivating blend of Western action and time travel. The story revolves around a young boy who was magically taken back to the year 1888 when he checked out a strange book that he found in the library. He was transported to Abilene, Kansas, where he ended up changing his name from Dominick Dalesandro to Pete Moss and became an apprentice to a sheriff named Amos “Lone Wolf” Malone. Soon, Pete learned that the sheriff would die in a month and that fueled his desire to want to save the man. While Pete was trying his best to render his assistance to the sheriff, he was caught in another trouble: His friend Abby and her little brother had been kidnapped. While his effort to help the sheriff was still strong, Pete realized that he had to balance his strength to be able to save his friends. As time progressed, Pete had a difficult decision to make: He had to choose between saving the sheriff or his friend. His decision was bound to have an impact on the people he cared about and history as a whole. What do you think his choice would be?
Opinion:
The book started off with a fresh premise as time travel met the Old West. Unlike most time travel books I have read, which place the characters in castles or dystopian worlds, this story transports readers to 1888, when the main character lived in a frontier town with sheriffs and outlaws. It felt new to me as a reader because most youth fiction books don't explore this mix. As I read further, the protagonist's role as Sheriff Malone's apprentice gave him a responsibility that made the story even more active than merely observing. Another thing that elevated the plot was not just the horse riding and other training that proceeded from the fact that Pete was about to change history by saving the sheriff, but rather it was from the exploration of his fate and choice.
The protagonist, Pete, is viewed as a sympathetic young boy. Madormo built the boy in such a way that I, as a reader, liked him almost immediately. He is a 12-year-old boy who loves Westerns only to find himself in one. When he found himself in a different place, he was scared and confused, as a young boy is expected to be. This vulnerability made me imagine how strange he must have felt to find himself in a strange place, and even more, in the past. As a young boy, Pete was caring; that was one quality I adored. He put himself at risk to save Sheriff Malone, Abby, and Tommy, people he could have overlooked. Even though he was flawed, he did not give up. Pete was brave and that created a balance between imperfection and persistence, making him more sympathetic.
Lastly, the plot had a strong setting and that is because Madormo made me feel the location instead of just telling it in the story. The details of Abilene, Kansas feel authentic as he integrated the dusty street, sheriff offices, and survival tasks, which included handling frontier tools and learning to ride a horse. Abilene is also considered a place where law is not followed, and it was portrayed as a dangerous place where the tension was unpredictable. Compared to Pete's real world, which is the present day, the protagonist was shocked to see the dangers and rough conditions in Abilene and that made his experiences there feel more real and vivid.
My overall impression of the book is that it has an intriguing entry that blends adventure with Western time travel. Middle grade and young adult readers who are invested in reading Western stories and time travel adventures will enjoy this. Furthermore, teachers and librarians can find this to be a satisfying read, as it is perfect for discussing history and ethics.
