Across the Pond

by: Storyheart

Published by: Xlibris Corporation

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

“Storyheart” is the pen name for Barry Eva, an Englishman who moved to the United States in 2000. He frequently publishes romance stories on the Internet and also has a collection titled “Stories from the Heart. Across the Pond” that is his first novel for young teens.

Across the Pond is the way the main character, fifteen-year-old Fred Squire, describes his trip to the United States from England. When his parents win a trip to Australia, they decide to treat him to a visit to old family friends in New York. It is not exactly his idea of a wonderful trip, but his father promises him an Xbox game system when he returns if he manages to collect enough data for a school project–finding how different words are used for the same object in England versus American–such as lorry/truck and loo/bathroom.

When Fred meets the family he discovers to his delight that the daughter, Brittany, is just his age and that they feel an instant connection to each other. The story jumps right into romance. I felt that Storyheart let the romance get ahead of itself. I personally didn’t think that the characters would become quite so involved in such a short period of time. But it is a sweet story of young love.

I wish that Storyheart had taken a bit more time with his editing of this book. Chapters 12 and 13 say the same thing and cover the same period in time with only slight variation. I have to believe this is an error because it made no sense. There are also a couple other mistakes that a good editor should have caught and corrected.

It is a nice coming of age story with pleasing characters. I would gladly recommend it, if and when it gets some tightening up/editing.

Armchair Interviews says: Another good storyline that is damaged by distracting errors and confusion.