LitPick Review
Smoke is about a twelve-year-old boy named Colton, and his pitch-black, 20 pound, Maine Coon cat, called Smoke. Colt and his mom move to California because of some problems between his mom and dad. One day, Colt's teacher, Mr. Viramontes, receives an e-mail from a soccer coach who was looking for two more players. Mr. Viramontes suggests that Colton and Manuel (who was also new) sign up. He and Manuel make the team and practice at Spring Lake Park with Manuel's family. Life is good for Colton until he lets Smoke outside one night for a midnight prowl. Colton gets very worried when he doesn't show up in the morning. He does everything he can to find his lost cat. A week later, Colt still hasn't found Smoke, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He searches by the abandoned cabin on the ranch where he's staying, which is rumored to be haunted by a ghost. Unfortunately, Colt leaves without telling someone where he's going, so what will he do when he gets trapped in the cabin? Will Colton ever find Smoke?
Opinion:
I thought Smoke was a good book, even though the ghost story was scary. I get scared really easily. Otherwise, the end was satisfying, if not slightly surprising. I also liked that Colton's imagination made him think he heard a ghost. In fact, it was the voices of people searching for him, which Colt realizes later, when he is rescued. The "ghost sounds" were his rescuers calling to him.
