Book Review: Dakota Gold

Title:  Dakota Gold An Adventure on the Missouri River
Author:  John Anderson
Pages:  112
Publication Date:  2013
Version:  Kindle
Genre:  Young Adult/Middle Grade Fiction  Mystery/Adventure

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Follow Rob and Marlo, on their homemade raft, as they head down the Missouri river, into the White Cliffs badlands, to recover stolen gold. Find out why they make such a bold journey, with the Sharndo gang hot on their trail and a run in with Blackfeet Warriors. Will they return safely home? A must read for kids and adults."

My Review:
Rob and Marlo are typical brother and sister, they may not always get along, but they love each other very much and are more than willing to band together if it means an adventure.  Marlo comes to Rob one day with a secret she overheard about there being stolen gold somewhere.  They talk about finding it and then they could be heroes when they return it to the authorities, but Rob never thought in a million years it would be more than just talk.  When Marlo comes to Rob with the map of where the gold is, he is uneasy and unsure they should really go looking for it seeing it is downriver.  Marlo did go through a lot to steal...errr, borrow...the map, so Rob and Marlo start the adventure off by building their own raft to float down the Missouri River to where the gold is hidden away.  Soon they are off on an adventure that they never dreamed would happen to them.  There are Blackfeet Warriors, gold thieves, a raging river, and much more that these two encounter along the way.  Can they brave it all to get to the gold?  If they get to the gold will they get to it and leave before the original thieves come back for it?  How will they get back home even if they do succeed?

This was such a great and exciting read, even for me as an adult.  It was packed full of adventure and kinship.  It reminded me a bit of Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer, in how it is a tale of young kids going on this big and dangerous adventure.  Rob and Marlo are very lovable characters.  They were easy to like and easy to get to know through the great descriptions in the book.  It was a book that I sat down with one night and finished in the wee hours of the morning the same night.  The book had a wonderful flow to it, just like the Missouri River Rob and Marlo took their raft down.  The "current" of the book picked up and slowed down, but was always moving and always exciting and filled with wonder and adventure.  My twelve year old son also loved this book with its adventures and its fast pace.  This is a read that is wonderful for kids and adults.  No matter what your age, if you like adventure and wonder this is the book for you to dive into!

5/5 Stars!!!