Reading Challenge 2016: Bully!

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 32: A book with a one word title

Bully!
by: Ryan Stallings

Strange

I missed somehow that this was a modern story in which a historical figure appears. I thought it was set in Roosevelet's time where he became a father figure to our young hero. Oops. Okay.

The writing was well done in the story, I could just never buy the idea of how Roosevelt arrived in the present time ... really? Kid tells teddy bear he wants a real dad and the next day the bear is gone and Theodore Roosevelt is in the bear's place? Weird, creepy, and how the dad ultimately reacts isn't real at all.

Also, for the book to be marketed as a children's book, there's an awful in here that kids won't really understand - like everything from the father's perspective about having lost his wife. I know that's a vehicle for learning about Roosevelt's wife who passed away, but some of it seemed a little much for children.

That said, if I could accept the premise the story was interesting. Lots of tidbits about Roosevelt mixed in and well as conjecturing what he would think about some things we just accept nowadays. But overall, how the adults were just ok with this strange man claiming to be a dead president hanging out with Jamie just never set well with me. So between that and his appearance/disappearance the whole things was just rather incredible (as in, unbelievable) to me.

I was really excited about the idea of this book and series when I started, and the writing is well done, but I just couldn't buy off on the story itself.

I'd read other books in this series if they were free, since the premise is good and maybe others are more believeably crafted, but I won't seek them out. 3 stars.

This review appears as a part of the Reading Challenge 2016, to see other books in the challenge, click here.