Review of Jolted by Arthur Slade

Title: Jolted

Author: Arthur Slade

Published by: Random House Children's Books

Source: Bought

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

Summary from Goodreads:  Newton Goddard Starker lives with a mysterious curse: his family attracts lightning. Nearly all of the Starker family have died from lightning strikes, including Newton's beloved mother. Fourteen-year-old Newton, the last in the Starker line, is determined not to be next, and he may have found a way to beat the odds. He has enrolled at Jerry Potts Academy for Survival, a boarding school in Moose Jaw, Canada, whose motto is Survival Through Fierce Intelligence. Newton's ready to learn, and to be remembered in the school's Hall of Heroes.

This novel had such an amazing plot.  Imagine generations of the Starker family being killed by lightning.  Newton is one of the last of his family members left and he is determined to survive.  He has lived his life by the weather reports, always being scared to go outside.  He decides it's time to concur his fears and fight his own battle by enrolling at Jerry Potts Academy for Survival.

This is a great novel for younger teens or tweens.  It's cute and packed with small adventures.  Though a lot of events happen throughout the book, the author doesn't go into great detail with each one so it almost seemed choppy to me.  It was a short book and I think some of the situations could have been expanded so the readers got more information not only about the events but also about the character's feelings and reactions.      

For me the characters were a bit underdeveloped and my favorite character ended up being Newton's pet pig.  I thought she was so adorable and reading about her made me want to get one for a pet too.  I absolutely love pigs! 

This novel has a unique story line and I think would be a huge hit with a young crowd.