Devil's Pass (Seven (the Series), 6) Paperback – October 10, 2012

The pages literally turned faster and faster as I read the book- I finished reading it in one night. Would recommend to anyone.

It has been a very long time since I read this author. I read, and enjoyed, a handful of his books way back at the beginning of his career when I lived in Alberta and he was a local author of decidedly children's Christian fiction. He's come a long way since then, entered mainstream publishing, yet from the book I still see, though unobtrusive, a Christian message. Just when I thought Jump Cut was the best of this series, I read this one and it's just as good ... better? hard to say. Some of the books give the grandfather's will and handing out of the quest only a brief set up at the beginning, some reference the grandfather tie-in frequently, others barely at all. Brouwer's book is quite different from all the others (I only have one left to read). He heavily concentrates on the Grandfather, the reading of the will, and the actual circumstances regarding the set up of his quest. This told through a past and present narrative as chapters switch from "Then" to "Now". This was a brilliant way of telling the story and gives the most insight into the Grandfather as a person, equalled only by "Lost Cause". Set in the Northwest Territories Webb's quest involves following the Canol trail with a guide to retrieve something his grandfather left behind during his days as a pilot just after the end of WWII. This is a wilderness survival story, as well as a teen's survival on the streets of Toronto. This is probably the most intense of the books in the series as it deals realistically with child abuse from a stepfather. I found the ex-military stepfather, a bit of a stereotype but nonetheless Brouwer brought a realistic portrayal to the table. An excellent entry in the series! One more book to go, by my favourite author represented in the series, then we shall see which I really thought was the best ... Will it be Ted Staunton's, Sigmund Brouwer's or Shane Peacock's?

When 17-year-old Webb's grandfather dies, he leaves a list of seven mysterious tasks to be completed by his seven grandsons. Webb's task is to hike out into the Northwest Territories on a mission to find a buried secret. While on this trip, Webb struggles with his own identity, and the changes he's seen in himself ever since his widowed mother remarried an abusive husband. On this trip, Webb learns a lot about his well-loved grandfather...and a lot about himself. This is part of a series of seven books, about the seven grandsons--each with a task from his deceased grandfather. In order to give each grandson an entirely unique personality, the series was written by seven different authors. This is the only book in the series that I have read. Technically, it's the fifth book in the series, but since the story of each grandson is completely independent of the other books, they can be read in any order.I was pleasantly surprised by this little book. Not that I expected bad things from it, but I didn't expect to be caught up in the action. Brouwer has worked in some interesting action scenes right at the beginning of the story, and by the time the action has slowed to a pace more suited for plot and character development, I was already quite interested in the book. I read it in only a couple of sittings. This would be an excellent book for boys in the 5th or 6th grade age range, even though the main character is 17.

Since his mother's remarriage to Elliott Skinner, Webb's life had been full of horrific abuse by the man. Now 17, he lives on the streets of Toronto, working odd jobs and playing his guitar to make money. Webb, like his six cousins, is given a task by his now-deceased grandfather; he is to fly from Toronto to the Northwest Territories and do something about a long-buried secret on Devil's Pass. That "something" is not quite clear. While enroute to the Pass, Webb encounters an abused woman and her psychotic boyfriend, reminding him of the unpleasantness he endured in his own home. As Webb struggles with emotions and learns about events in his grandfather's past, a saying by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzschecomes to mind, as it was something his grandfather told him years before: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Time and again that saying plays into the storyline. Lots of action and adventure, with Webb's courage and persistence coming through. Well done.

well written. kept my attention from first to last page.