Molly Pepper and the Night Train

Molly Pepper & the Night Train

by: Courtney King Walker

“Wishes should be made of the impossible, the outrageous, the unbelievable…"

Release date: March 13, 2015

Pages: 245

Age Range: 8 & up

The Story

Twelve-year-old Molly Pepper opens her mailbox and finds an invitation to a night of adventure on the Night Railroad. Molly’s dad is a police officer, and Molly knows that when things sound too good to be true, they usually are. Surely the Night Train couldn’t be real, but when Molly has a fight with her dad, she decides to go to seek it out with her friend Noah. Following a set of clues, Noah and Molly make it to the Night Train, but when the Night Train stops at Bells Bluff the site of the infamous prison, Molly quickly finds out why she was invited.  In order to get home, Molly must solve the mystery surrounding the train & learn about family, friendship,
and letting go.

Strengths

This is a hidden gem. One can easily get caught up in Noah & Molly’s adventure. The author Courtney Walker captures so much in this story. I was impressed by the depth of what this short 200 page book covers. Without giving anything away, its main theme is accepting death. I know this sounds very dark, but the author does it in a way that makes the book more of a mystery / adventure story. Each chapter leaves off on a cliff hanger. It is one that I feel comfortable giving to some of my reluctant readers.

Weaknesses
The only issue I really had with this book was that I think that the character Tom Flaky could be more developed.  The story would have been stronger with more of his backstory that would give this character a stronger presence. For his significance in the book, I was disappointed that there was not more about him, but I am still excited to share this book with my peers & tweens. I think this would be a fun mother daughter book!

Have you read it? 

-Pamela