Following Fake Man
Written by Barbara Ware Holmes
Illustrated by Sarah A. Hokanson
Reviewed by Lauren W. (age 12) & Tessa S. (age 11)
"Shhh. Quiet, we've got to tip-toe," Homer says to Roger as they follow the mysterious man. Following Fake Man is about a boy named Homer who is trying to piece the mystery of his father's life and death together in Herring Cove, Maine. Homer meets a boy named Roger who is flying rubber bands at a man. Roger believes this man is not what he seems. He knows this because he had followed him one day. They call this man, "Fake Man". The boys follow him around to see who he really is. When Homer's mother sees "Fake Man', she turns the other way. This leads the boys to thinking that "Fake Man" has something to do with Homer's father's death. We're going to leave you hanging! Read the book to find out what happened.
We thought this book was very suspenseful. There was hardly anything that made us want to stop reading. We were sad when our moms made us turn out the light before we went to bed. We liked this book because it left us hanging when we closed the book. I, Tessa, liked the character Roger because he always was doing something funny. My favorite part of the book was when Homer and Roger were sneaking around "Fake Man's" hideout. I, Lauren, liked the character "Fake Man" because he made the book whole and suspenseful. He was the reason that I didn't want to stop reading the book, especially when Roger and Homer followed him into the woods and into the house. That was also probably my favorite part of the whole book because it was so mysterious and it definitely caught the readers' (my) attention. This book was excellent.
We would recommend this book because it kept our attention. The kind of audience that would like this book would be people who love mysteries and that are able to read longer books and can read with a wide vocabulary range. Something that might catch the reader's attention would be the plot. The plot is a mystery about Homer's father. There are many things that helped Homer and Roger piece the mystery together.
So, read this book and we hope you enjoy it!