I Don't Buy It

I read once that when people read a book or see a play or a movie they go in willing to suspend reality.  Some more than others.  This perfectly explains why my husband always guesses the ending and I am more surprised-I have completely suspended reality and he is more skeptical.  Long time readers of this blog will know that I love fantasy, dragons, magic, wizards, mythical creatures, the more the better.  When I re-read Harry Potter every summer I buy all of it, every year, I have completely suspended my own reality and have entered that of the book.

I say all this so that everyone knows where I'm coming from when I say my only thought on finishing On the Blue Comet was, "I don't buy it."  Rosemary Wells The Blue Comet starts with the life of Oscar Ogilive, a young boy living with his dad in the 1920's.  Even though Oscar's mom has died, Oscar and his father have a happy life together.  Dad goes to work while Oscar goes to school and takes care of the house.  In the evening they play with trains.


By play with trains I mean they save their pennies to buy new train cars and use their creativity to build inexpensive replicas of the layouts found in the catalog.  Both Oscar and his dad love the trains. Life is good; but, as we all know, in 1929 the stock market crashes and Oscar's dad can no longer find work.  Oscar has to live with his aunt while his dad goes to California hoping to find a steady job.

This is when things get weird.  Oscar goes to visit his trains, that they had to sell to the bank owner, when the bank is robbed.  His extreme fear somehow makes it possible for him to jump onto the train layout and end up at the actual train station.  This I could buy (even though the first third of the book contained no trace of anything unusual), but when Oscar arrives in California he has traveled forward in time 10 years. The train jumping and time travel then continues in the rest of the book.

I just didn't buy it.  I couldn't get into the story because I couldn't accept the premise.  And I can accept a lot if it works in the world of the book.  It just felt like the author decided to throw in a little time travel and expected the reader to just accept it.  I can't wait to see what the members of next years Reading Olympic's team think of this book.

Suspending reality...that's kids stuff.