The Strange Side of the Tracks

This redemptive journey is a tenderly written, playful, yet surprisingly deep story. In this humorous and intriguing tale of a young boy's forays into family history and first love, author George Avant charms with the savvy workings of a plucky adolescent mind in The Strange Side of the Tracks.The opening sentence--"I slipped a hollow-point bullet into my Remington single shot, .22 rifle and took a deep breath"--opens up Lonnie's world and captures interest as the adventure begins. The journey is tenderly written, playful, yet surprisingly deep, showing appreciation of nature, history, and elderly relatives who are gateways to the past. Avant's graceful writing style creates a tone reminiscent of another forthright story of adolescence, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It's truly a loss that the book was published posthumously and there will be no more joyous use of language from Avant's nimble mind.--Felicia Seeburger, ForeWord Reviews The Strange Side of the Tracks takes us back to revisit childhood days when summer vacations spent with relatives invited investigation of new surroundings, and in this story, opened an opportunity to explore the possibilities of an unsolved mystery that perplexed even the grown ups of this little town. Avant's writing flows like honey, sweet and tasteful, leaving an aftertaste of total satisfaction. --Dave Potter, Author of "A Place of Stones"