Saturday, January 03, 2015

Ranger in Time

Rescue on the Oregon Trail. (Ranger in Time #1) Kate Messner. 2015. Scholastic. 144 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Sam Abbott lugged another sack of bacon to the wagon and sat down to wipe his forehead.

Premise/plot: Ranger is a golden retriever who has been trained as a search and rescue dog. But he failed to graduate his training. Ranger wanted to let the humans know that in a real situation, he'd not be distracted by squirrels. But, of course, he couldn't make them get that. Thus he failed, despite his good intentions. But he's given a second chance, of sorts, when he digs up an old first-aid kit. This kit magically transports him BACK in time. Ranger suddenly finds himself in 1850 in Independence, Missouri. He finds a missing girl, Sam Abbott's sister, Amelia, and joins the Abbott family and the wagon train heading west to Oregon. On the way, Ranger will have PLENTY of opportunities to alert Sam and his family--really, the whole wagon train--of dangers on the trail. He proves himself trustworthy when it counts.

My thoughts: It's the first in a new series. I liked this one. I did. You do have to suspend your disbelief a bit, I admit. But once you do, it's just FUN. Time travel can be great fun after all. Readers learn facts about the Oregon trail AND meet a lovable dog. And since this is the first book in the series. Readers shouldn't worry about this dog-on-the-cover book. The book realistically portrays the dangers of trail life, but, not at the expense of the star of the book: Ranger.

Rescue on the Oregon Trail releases this month. And the second in the series, Danger in Ancient Rome, will release this summer.


© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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