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Crystal Blake #2
Crystal's Solid Gold Discovery
When Crystal Blake discovers a deserted gold mine in the mountains of Idaho, she decides to explore it. But if it's deserted, why is there a helicopter landing pad beside it? And why is smoke coming from the smokestack? Maybe Crystal's plan of a quiet week of vacation in rural Idaho, learning to ride her new horse, and getting to know handsome Shawn Sorensen better, won't happen quite like she expected. Meanwhile, she discovers a burlap bag buried in the middle of a field. When she carefully cuts into it, not sure what she'll find inside, she realizes It's not squishy at all. What spills out is heavy, metal, very old, and very broken. She and her dad try to solve the mystery as she wonders what is happening with Shawn.
143 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1986
About the author
Stephen Bly
127 books72 followersStephen Bly (August 17, 1944 - June 9, 2011) authored 100 books and hundreds of articles. His book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 CHRISTY AWARD for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, PICTURE ROCK (Crossway Books), THE OUTLAW'S TWIN SISTER (Crossway Books), and LAST OF THE TEXAS CAMP (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He spoke at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He was the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000-2007). He spoke on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He was an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. Steve graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from Fresno State University and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. The Blys have three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross) and mother of Alayah, Michael (married to Michelle), and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton and Deckard. A third generation westerner, Steve spent his early years working on ranches and farms.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 24, 2019
I loved it, it’s a fun story a young girl har horse and a mystery and a boy to try to impress.
March 22, 2020
So here we are at the review for the second book in the Crystal Blake Series. This one is entitled Crystal's Solid Gold Discovery. Do you sense the "theme-naming" going on in this series yet? ;)
This book takes place shortly after the end of the first one, beginning at the airport where Crystal's hometown friend in the first book, Megan, is heading back to southern California, to begin registration for school. Crystal is looking forward to heading home herself to begin high school. But that might not be what happens.
Crystal does not find the "discovery" and her mystery until over halfway through the story. The main thrust of the novel seems to be less about the mystery, or even Crystal's struggles and walk with God as in the previous and future books. Instead, the attention is centered on the overall storyline, or continuity, of the series as a whole.
In the last review, I mentioned that the status of Mr. Blake as a somewhat well-known author is important to the overall plot of the series. Here is where that comes into play. Mr. Blake's publisher offers him a very lucrative contract, that he and his wife decide to use to fulfill their dream of settling down to write more peacefully in a small rural areas away from the hustle, bustle, and busyness of California. Seeing that Crystal's sister Karla also wants a quieter place to finish high school in, and Crystal has new friends and her new horse she was given as a gift, in Idaho, Mr. Blake and his wife decide to settle there.
Crystal is thrilled, to say the least. She has visions of riding Caleb (her new Appaloosa horse) in her free time, and of being part of an actual high-school rodeo team. Of course, spending time with her new close friend, whom she has a huge crush on, Sean, is also a big plus for her. The only drawbacks are that she knows the adjustment may be hard, and that she is uncertain of how well she'll fit in. She is not the natural at horse riding and handling that Sean and many others in the area with horses are, since she just got hers. She doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of anyone, so she wracks her brain trying to find a way to learn the ins and outs of horses. That problem, at least, she can work on solving.
When she learns that a middle-aged woman who was a famous rodeo star in her youth is nearby in her summer home taking care of cattle, she asks the woman for lessons. When her father grants his permission, Crystal begins, and during this training makes her titular "discovery".
The story here was both stronger in some parts than that of the first book, and weaker in other parts. The storyline was "tighter" if you will, than in the previous novel. The elements seemed to flow together much better, with much less useless scenes. At the same time, the lack of the "character-building" moments, and the relegating of the romance and "coming-of-age" plots to second tier, weakened the story. I can understand, however, why the authors wrote the book this way, as they had to push the plot forward for future books, and they succeeded at this. Really, if one considers this and the previous book as simply two parts of the same longer novel, then both make far more sense than they do separately.
Not as strong a work, but still a fun, solid story for parents and their teens.
Highly Recommended.
This book takes place shortly after the end of the first one, beginning at the airport where Crystal's hometown friend in the first book, Megan, is heading back to southern California, to begin registration for school. Crystal is looking forward to heading home herself to begin high school. But that might not be what happens.
Crystal does not find the "discovery" and her mystery until over halfway through the story. The main thrust of the novel seems to be less about the mystery, or even Crystal's struggles and walk with God as in the previous and future books. Instead, the attention is centered on the overall storyline, or continuity, of the series as a whole.
In the last review, I mentioned that the status of Mr. Blake as a somewhat well-known author is important to the overall plot of the series. Here is where that comes into play. Mr. Blake's publisher offers him a very lucrative contract, that he and his wife decide to use to fulfill their dream of settling down to write more peacefully in a small rural areas away from the hustle, bustle, and busyness of California. Seeing that Crystal's sister Karla also wants a quieter place to finish high school in, and Crystal has new friends and her new horse she was given as a gift, in Idaho, Mr. Blake and his wife decide to settle there.
Crystal is thrilled, to say the least. She has visions of riding Caleb (her new Appaloosa horse) in her free time, and of being part of an actual high-school rodeo team. Of course, spending time with her new close friend, whom she has a huge crush on, Sean, is also a big plus for her. The only drawbacks are that she knows the adjustment may be hard, and that she is uncertain of how well she'll fit in. She is not the natural at horse riding and handling that Sean and many others in the area with horses are, since she just got hers. She doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of anyone, so she wracks her brain trying to find a way to learn the ins and outs of horses. That problem, at least, she can work on solving.
When she learns that a middle-aged woman who was a famous rodeo star in her youth is nearby in her summer home taking care of cattle, she asks the woman for lessons. When her father grants his permission, Crystal begins, and during this training makes her titular "discovery".
The story here was both stronger in some parts than that of the first book, and weaker in other parts. The storyline was "tighter" if you will, than in the previous novel. The elements seemed to flow together much better, with much less useless scenes. At the same time, the lack of the "character-building" moments, and the relegating of the romance and "coming-of-age" plots to second tier, weakened the story. I can understand, however, why the authors wrote the book this way, as they had to push the plot forward for future books, and they succeeded at this. Really, if one considers this and the previous book as simply two parts of the same longer novel, then both make far more sense than they do separately.
Not as strong a work, but still a fun, solid story for parents and their teens.
Highly Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews