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The Stinging Tree
The Stinging Tree
Is Brad seeing things? A boy, his double, on the other side of the stream. It's like looking into a mirror. But where has he come from? Who is he? When Brad decides to follow him into the forest, it is the start of an action-packed thrill ride. Set in the mountains of far northern Australia, this is the debut novel of author Luke King.
Book Excerpt
oy's arms and threaded his own arms through, clasping his hands together over the boy's chest.
Brad struggled to his feet and dragged the boy backwards.
His feet were lifeless. They wobbled and dragged in the mud, turning from side to side.
One of the boy's shoes came loose at the heel, caught on a root. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. A really bad sting from a tree could kill you. The boy could die. Brad knew that. He had to get him to hospital.
He'd drive up to his house. Mum was home. They could ring the ambulance or take him to the station themselves.
What? Something he'd forgotten.
The bridge!
There was no bridge.
Damn! He'd have to run home. But not all the way. He could drive down to the bridge anyway, cross the creek and run from there. It would take half an hour, maybe more. They would have to come and get the boy -- take him across the creek, take him to the hospital in Alderton.
But, wait up. Where had the car come f
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Readers reviews
3.0
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A good story, but incomplete. I don't know if it was intentional, but I was definitely left with a desire to find out what happens next. This is short, only 22 pages, so perhaps the author wants you to purchase other books? I would have rated it at 4 stars, but the writing style was awkward. The short, choppy sentences were distracting. I also wanted more explanations. The author tends to hit you with Brad doing something and then two paragraphs later, come back to it to explain that thought or occurrence. It was very disruptive to the flow. Again, very choppy. The ideas were there, but not the style. Plus, the inconclusive ending.
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