August in Paradise

'Hun! Hun! Hun! Hun!' Those are the words that begin this novel that takes a young boy by the name of August Hans Kruger running out of and into numerous adventures and mysteries. Augie grows up during World War I, the Great Depression and World War II in a town by the name of Jackson Junction. He struggles, both inside and outside his home, to reach the goal he has set for his life. This is a book of youthful courage, determination and faithfulness. This is a book that runs the gamut of emotions not only for Augie but also for his entire family. Augie can sit on a stump in his back yard as a youngster and see his future down a pair of railroad tracks. His future rides on freight trains, and he makes up his mind that one day he'll be an engineer on one of those trains. The reader will travel with Augie on a path full of obstacles to reach that goal. You may not always agree with Augie's behavior, but you will admire him, laugh with him and, yes, sometimes cry with him. Perhaps Pig Reardon, captain of the Michigan Central Railroad's police at Jackson Junction, says it best of Augie's goal: 'Somewhere down them there tracks there's a paradise just waiting for us to find it ... we each gotta find our own paradise, lad ... you'll find yer's someday, lad, just as I'll find mine.' Come join August Hans Kruger on that journey to find his paradise. A paradise that isn't at all what Augie expected.