Timmy's Review of Lost Tales From Foster High by John Goode!

At first I was worried about reviewing this book because I thought it wasn’t going to be published. But have no worries! Mr. Goode assures me it will be published. Even better, maybe today! Yay! It’s always awesome to hear there is a new Goode book out! (Ha! See what I did there? It’s a gift!) Because this book is actually an anthology, it makes it harder to review. So here’s how I’ma do this. I will review the whole book as one, then I will go through and do a very small review for each story. By the end, you will be totally jealous that I have read it already, and you wait endless days until Mr. Goode has it for sale (which I hear is in a week or so. But it will feel endless to the hardcore Foster High fans!)

Lost Tales from Foster High overall review:

Lost Tales from Foster High is one of the best anthologies I have read. Some of that is because I love the whole Foster High cast, and some of that is due to the author. I have not met a character in this series who I didn’t want to know more about. Even the “bad guys” have a story to tell. So it was neat to hear a few stories or updates on characters you didn’t think you’d hear about again. I also really liked that each and every story had an introduction, because that helped me see where we were in the books and, in some cases, what we missed due to editing. Without those small intros, I would have been confused. So thanks for that, Mr. Goode!

The book I received is not the finished edited version, but I was informed that all the stories would remain the same. I also promised Mr. Goode that I would not pick on any proofing typos that would be caught in edits. So I will hold to that. But for those of you who got this version, I bet the small errors didn’t even matter. Right? I was able to enjoy every story, and any errors there were did not take away from the truly awesome writing in these stories. And because this was a complaint in my last Goode review, I would like to thank the author for not making me yell the first few words in a new chapter! (In the last book, the first few words of each chapter were all caps. Just threw me off a bit, but didn’t ruin the story in the least.) There is only one complaint I have in the book in general and I hope by saying something, Mr. Goode may try not to do this in future books (‘cause it really does throw me off). In the stories, it is not always clear who is talking. A question is asked and answered in the same paragraph by two different characters and is not always clear who is speaking. I’m going to give an example, and I found one that does not give away spoilers.



“But I’m not hot?” He looked me up and down. “Kinda I guess. But very cute.”
“I am going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.”

See? It is not very clear who said what and who is talking when it is run together like that. Cody calls these dialogue tags. So make those dialogue tag things, Mr. Goode! But other then that, this anthology is golden! Now I will review the stories! YAY!

A Place Called Home:

This was a very good setup to another book, but we may need to talk Mr. Goode into writing it. According to the intro, he doesn’t think he will. This is a bit of story on Aaron, the Navy guy who stands up for Brad at the school board meeting. It was really goode! And I obviously want to read more, so I could use a little help talkin’ him into that. Please? Aaron has a funny personality on the inside, though on the outside he is a quiet stand-to-the-side kinda guy. I can’t tell much more without giving away spoilers, so just read it, enjoy it, beg for more! (Really, please do beg.)

You Will Rise:

I actually can’t say anything about this short story without giving it all away. (Thanks for making my job hard, Mr. Goode!) But I will say that it was written for a good cause and it actually made me feel good about myself. If you ask me, that is all the praise a story needs. Read it.

Last Friday Night:

This was a part of one of the original novels that was changed, and part was edited out before the book was released. It’s about a character who was edited out of the published book, and I really wonder why that decision was made? I’m a little mad cause now I want to read the pre-edited version of this book! But it was neat to see how the story changed from the original writing of it.

Unused Opening for 151 Days:

So, I looked up a few things and asked my friend Cody about this ‘cause I had no clue Foster was a real town in Texas. So, now I’m wondering, what do the people of Foster think about the Foster High books? And is any of the stuff we read based on real life events? Was this mentioned somewhere and I missed it? Anyway, what brought that up is this opening was a history lesson. The history of Foster, Texas. So I was thinking, how could he make up a town and it have such an involved history? It turns out he didn’t make it up and I need to learn that there is more to the world than the towns I have been to. :D Not sure I would have used this opening either, but not because it is bad. I like history, and it was interesting to me, but I could see many people reading it thinking “When is the story going to start?” Not that Mr. Goode asked my opinion or even cares, but I say Goode call not using this opening.

Five Dates and a Hookup:

Ever wonder what happened to Brad and Kyle during the 4 years Brad was in the Navy? Well, Mr. Goode wants us to know that it was boring! ‘No book there!’ he says, then he writes this! It was funny and seriously makes you wonder how they lived apart. I, for one, want more but would settle for a few flashbacks in the future books. I’m feeling a little mean today, so I’m not gonna say one thing about this story. I want you to read the title then go buy this book just to see who’s butt needs to be kicked—or if Mr. Goode is playin’ games with us. :P

If Only In My Dreams:

Aww… This story made me so proud of Kyle. And then he went and kicked us out at the end! But still an awesome read.

Regret:

This is a bit of info on Jeremy. You remember him right? Pointed a gun at my Kyle! *swears* But this is a good story because it is important to know that not everyone is going to be the same as how they started out in the series. People change. Some for better, some for worse.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning:

Mr. Goode is a diabolical man! He planned this book well. I have to give him huge props for that. Now, this last story takes place right before the first story in the series, so by the time you finish it, guess what you want to do? That’s right. I will be busy for the next few weeks rereading the Foster High books. Sigh…. Smart man. Just saying….

Conclusion:

I hope everyone reads this book, and if they haven’t read the others (shakes head at those who haven’t), I would again recommend the whole series. Please, you are only hurting yourself by not reading these. I’d even be willing to buddy read the whole series if y’all need encouragement. :) Of course, I offer this out of the kindness of my heart, not at all because I want an excuse to reread the books. *wink* I give this book 4 Marbles. What’s next, Mr. Goode?~Timmy

Lost Tales from Foster High is available NOW

from John Goode and at Amazon

Find John Goode on his Harmony Ink Author Page, Goodreads, his Goodreads blog, 

on Facebook, on Twitter @FosterHigh, and on Tumblr

About Lost Tales from Foster High

THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE TALES TO TELL...

A COLLECTION OF EIGHT DIFFERENT UNPUBLISHED STORIES FROM THE FOSTERVERSE ARE CONTAINED WITHIN RANGING FROM UNUSED DRAFTS OF PUBLISHED STORIES TO ALL NEW TALES NEVER BEFORE OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC.

Lost Tales from Foster High is available NOW

from John Goode and Amazon

To Wish for Impossible Things 

(a lost tale from The Tales from Foster High) 

Dreamspinner/Harmony Ink Press

Dear God 

(a lost chapter from The End of Innocence)

Dreamspinner/Harmony Ink Press

Find John Goode on his Harmony Ink Author Page, Goodreads, his Goodreads blog, 

on Facebook, on Twitter @FosterHigh, and on Tumblr