”Serpent Tide,” a young adult adventure novel by author K. L. Fogg, is an exciting read. Wesley Vandergriff is a rich twelve-year-old who is coddled and protected to within an inch of his life by his mother, Imogene. His father isn’t in the picture, but Imogene makes up for that lack with toys, games, lavish birthday parties, tuition at an exclusive private school – in fact, the only thing Wesley doesn’t have is a life. His mother keeps him so safe and so protected, he never gets to go anywhere or have any fun.
One day he finally gets the chance to visit a horse ranch, and falls in love with the animals. He also falls in love with the owners, a sweet older couple who feed the children full of peach cobbler before sending them home. While visiting with them, he sees a picture on the mantle of a man and woman who seem familiar to him. Piecing together some bits of information he’d gathered over the last several weeks, he realizes he just might be the son of the people in the picture.
Twelve years previously, the couple and their baby were out on a boat when a storm came up and swept the mother and baby overboard. Only the father survived, and he went on to become a television personality, known as “The Snake Stalker,” rather like the Crocodile Hunter. As more pieces of the puzzle fall into place, it is discovered that Wesley is definitely the Snake Stalker’s son, and that means Imogene kidnapped him so many years ago and raised him as her own.
It’s fascinating to read how all this concludes, and I was drawn back to the book every time I had to put it down. While billed as a young adult novel, this is definitely one that can be enjoyed by adults as well.
(This book was published in 2006 by Covenant Communications.)
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