Wound Too Tight
by TJ Perkins

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz

Synopsis:

With school out, summer vacation in Maine promised to be exciting for Shawn and his friends, until they uncover a lost treasure from an evil pirate named Simon de Cruel and a very special watch. Each boy decides to keep some of the treasure for himself, but a nerve racking inscription on the inside of an enchanted watch warns of danger to those who touch the pirate’s treasure.

One by one the boys begin to disappear and the curse of the pirate touches the lives of all those close to Shawn. It’s up to him to discover the secret of the watch, save the lives of his friends and put an end to the wickedness unleashed on his home town-before time runs out!

Review:

There has always been something deliciously fun about pirates and lost treasure. The mystery, the adventure, the villains—always fun! Wound Too Tight is just as fun of a read.

I really enjoyed that the book was narrated by a male lead, Shawn, and the story was told through a group of best friends—Jay, Carl, Rick, Steve, and Bobby. The boys are in their early teens, around fourteen except for Bobby who is twelve, and in so many ways still wrapped up in innocence. Shawn is the more logical one of the group and has a harder time believing the reality of Simon de Cruel’s spirit coming back to search for his treasure. Carl is the one who believes without question whereas Rick and Steve are the joksters and Bobby is the most curious one. The differences of the boys balanced them out well and their connection was genuine.

The pacing of the book is pretty well paced because the book is short. The suspense was well done and the characters were pretty well written.

But something that did bother me about the book was Shawn’s character. As much as I liked him as the leader and the logical one, I also felt he often came off as too condescending and with a too know-it-all type of attitude. The narration sometimes seemed far older than the age the boys were supposed to be. Shawn had many moments where he sounded like an adult and too authoritative. The narrating of the book came off more telling than showing which made the story drag a few times.

For the most part though, I did enjoy the adventure Shawn and the boys went on. A fun little tale full of humor, supernatural magic, buried treasure and a scary villain. I would recommend this book to anyone under the age of fourteen. A good read for parents with their kids.