Lots of good stuff in this gritty tale. Good dialogue, interesting characters. Loved the anti-hero Nickel. You want this kid to succeed after all of the horrible things he has been through. He's interesting because he's chosen not to be a victim, and given that he's a vigilante in a fight against the child sex industry, you can't help but root for him and his risky escapades to take down the pervs he seeks out online. I'd probably give this book 3.5 stars if I could. The biggest problem I had with it was the story line. Think it needed a few more twists -- or something -- to keep it less tidy. The ending was abrupt and wrapped up a little too nicely for the overall feel of this story, in my opinion. But I've already started Davis' latest novel with Nickel so I'm excited to see if some of that changes. I teach a class called Mystery and Crime. As you can probably surmise, we read mystery and crime novels. I believe I have found the next novel for us to read. Enter Nickel, not his real name. Nickel has had a rough time for a twelve-year-old. His real parents have been out of his life for a while. He went into the foster system and had a decent foster father, until he died. The next foster home was great!! Nickel had his own room, plenty to eat, his foster parents were great. There were a couple of other children there, so Nickel had company. Everything was fine until one day Nickel and the other children were asked to go down into the basement. Nickel saw several sets, cameras, lights, tripods and knew he had to get out of there. He did. He has been on his own since. He supports himself through various enterprises, one being a private investigator. This is how he meets Arrow. Arrow's younger sister, Shelby, is missing. The police don't seem to be doing much to find her, so Arrow hires Nickel to do the job. Nickel is one unusual twelve-year-old and a most memorable character.
What do You think about Nickel Plated (2011)?
Wow. What a powerful story. I loved this book. I can't wait for this author to write another one!
—karen
Not that great of a story. I stopped half way.
—bigdog
