You'll Root for Robert
Hartley
With so much trash out there for young
readers to pick up it was so refreshing to read MY
ELUSIVE DREAM. There isnt any doubt
that Fred Goods book was written with the young and
adventurous in mind. After all, the story is
told through the eyes of Robert Hartley, a teenage boy
who becomes a man. For this reason MY
ELUSIVE DREAM will have a special appeal to boys, ten
to nineteen years of age. However, Im
a woman in my early forties and I couldnt put the book
down. So, if you love a great adventure
novel, it really doesnt matter how old you are. Theres
something pure, simple and completely
endearing about this tale.
Let me explain.
As billed, MY ELUSIVE DREAM is a Depression-era story of tragedy and
triumph... Robert
Hartley is a farm boy from Lincoln County,
Arkansas. Just as Robert is coming into his own as a
hard working, fun loving teen, the Great
Depression hits Lincoln County and the family farm is
lost to creditors. The Hartleys, like so
many other small farm families of the time, are forced to
move to the big city; they move to Chicago
to live with relatives. The plan, of course, is to
recover financially and then move back to
Arkansas. Unfortunately, in Chicago, Mr. Hartley is
killed and young Robert is forced to grow up
fast. Robert comes face to face with responsibilities
that todays teens can hardly imagine.
Yet, these responsibilities only seem to steel Roberts
determination to make a success of himself
and to save his family.
It is at this point that Robert starts down the path of lifes essential
questions. What is success?
What are my talents? What is love? How do I
fit in? Can I preserve my values and still be a
success?
It is at this point that you too will begin to root for Robert.
Without any money to invest in his own education or betterment, Robert sets out to
do the best
he can do in whatever he does and to give
his all in even the most menial tasks. This attitude
opens doors for Robert and soon enough he
sets out on a wide-open adventure, filled with
action and rife with moral dilemmas.
In the end, Robert is able to overcome class prejudice, reclaim the family farm in
Lincoln County,
retain his core values and come to
understand the difference between boyish infatuation and true
love.
Anyone that reads Fred Goods story will be encouraged to never give up on
their dreams.
Carolina Summers Book Reviews, June 30, 2008.
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