"Adventures with Easton" book review

Premise:

    A young boy, Easton Wilbur, attempts to overcome his adversities through his dreams and friendships. Easton has a disability due to a car wreck at age three. Because of this disability, he develops the ability to escape the real world and travel to a magical world through his dreams. Now a nine year old boy, Easton is excited every night to dream a new adventure. When he finds out that happiness is actually all around him, some remarkable things start to happen. As he learns through open communications, the true magic happens when he is awake.


Review:

   In Adventures with Easton, local author Mary Gilmartin takes the adult reader to a place that can only be remembered from dreams or memories. For those young readers, it is a place of exciting mysteries, adventure and enjoyment. Her attention to major and minor details is very clever. The way she weaves in faith, redemption and love all set in Atlanta, Georgia primarily kept this Georgia reader interested from the first word to the last.

Easton Wilbur is a nine year old boy dealing with feelings, issues and pain that many kids his age shouldn’t have to. When he was three years old, he was in a very tragic car accident that broke his foot and killed his mother.

Dealing with rejections, fear, and sadness, this boy tries to feel happy. This seems to be found only in his dreams every night. With his new stepmother Clara, their relationship is strained with her being mean and constantly riding him about chores such as washing dishes and clothes which are things a mother should.

As the story unfolds, Easton learns about faith in people, redemption from his stepmother and dad, and new friendships making him feel happy and alive.

While his dreams are realistic adventures, the realization those new friends, family and his pet help provide the real adventures daily eliminating his adversities and pain.

This book can be read by 9 to 90 year old. The innocence and true wonderment found in the pages makes you want more. The southern charm Ms. Gilmartin has with place, setting and theme just might rub off on you no matter where you live. Also knowing that this is a trilogy series, I look forward to reading the continuing saga of Easton Wilbur.

I give this book 4 ½ out of 5 stars.

Bradley Evans