Turn Left at the Cow by Lisa Bullard

Travis has always wondered about his dead-before-he-was-born dad. In search of answers, he decides to run away from his mom's house in California and make it own his own out to his grandmother's in rural Minnesota. In the first couple of days he discovers a human head in the basement- no worries it's made out of cheese, that his dad may have been involved in a major bank robbery, and that his plunder may still be out there for someone to find. Along with the kids next door Trav embarks on a summer and an adventure of a lifetime.

Murder, mystery, friendship, even a little romance mixed in. Turn Left at the Cow sounds great, right? Well then I will have to be the bearer of bad news. This book was bad. Like eww, get that away from me right now bad. When I picked this book up I thought the title sounded cute, even a little goofy and ignored the "blah" cover art. By the end of the first chapter I knew I wasn't going to make it to the end. I continued to read because the mystery still intrigued me. However, after fifty (or so) pages in I just couldn't do it anymore. I swear this book mocked me as I walked by.

The summary and title easily drew me. Again, I thought the general idea of the plot sounded good. However, the characters lacked depth and I just wasn't able to relate to them (and I don't think many teens will once they start reading). I also felt that there were a lot of details missing, if these had been there maybe the story would have been flowed better. All in all if you are looking for a good adventure story ignore this one and ask a teen librarian for a recommendation. We would love to help!

--JAC