In this latest installment of Into the West Tina's adventure continues to unfold. This time while checking the fence she is once again drawn to the mysterious canyon that takes her into the past. This book is a wonderful adventure that is like a long kiss good bye it leaves you hungry for more. It is written for young adults but I would recommend this book to anyone who likes, adventures, mysteries,and a little romance with a hunky cowboy. ( )

Recently (April, 2011) I finished reading the e-book Range Feud, the second installment of Into The West, a series by J.A. Campbell. This is part of the new Electric Shorts series by Echelon Press, a series geared toward the reluctant reader from 7-17, although this series is for ages 13-17.

The first installment was Westward, Yo! where we meet Tina Harker, displaced city girl. She's had to move to a ghost town in the boon docks because her father has work there. This is hard on Tina because even though she's been riding horses for a while, she's a total city girl; malls, make-up, lotions, cell phones, etc. boys, etc. Now she's working on a ranch for fun, and getting into trouble....(not citygirl trouble)

In Westward, Yo! Tina went back in time, was kidnapped by bandits, met a cute young man named Rowe, and had quite an adventure. She and her family met a medicine man named Eli who gave her a turquoise worked into a bracelet. In Range feud, this turquoise bracelet proves to be important.

Because Tina is a teen, she has to prove to her self that she wasn't imagining things before, so she goes back into this mysterious canyon - the canyon that seemed to lead her to a different time before.....

right into another adventure - only this time Rowe is in trouble...

I had fun reading Range Feud. Rowe's character is fun, he's of course, oldfashioned, with old manners...Tina is running around in jeans and odd to Rowe clothes....even so they manage to get to know each other a little better. There is the beginnings of a sweet romance here, if a little ill-fated perhaps with the different time zones. There is just a glimpse of Tina's family this time, enough to see Becky teasing Tina...but there are six more installments to go, so hopefully we'll see a bit more of this happy family relationship. It's refreshing to see a imperfectly happy family - one without the angst or traumas that are apparent in other teen novels. (or adult novels, someone always has a traumatic background...hell, I do too!!! lol)

There was a satisfying little adventure, the romance beginning, and some talk of legend. Eli makes another appearance. I am looking forward to the third installment - wondering what's going to happen with Rowe and Tina, if they'll even get to see each other again. Is Tina going to learn more from Eli about canyon legend, is she even going to listen to his advice? There is only about three weeks to go to find out more, so I'm waiting patiently.

One of things that I love about J.A. Campbell's writing is the strong female lead. The main character is a girl, one who loves city life and malls, etc...but she isn't the stereotypical Mall-Rat city girl that you find portrayed in movies and t.v. shows. Tina is a girl who had a definite feminine side and also has brains that she's not afraid to use. She comes across as a strong young woman who happens to be growing up into a strong young adult. Even though she does make rash decisions she also deals with the consequences, and when there's trouble, she thinks and tries to over come the problem. This is good modeling for the girls of today - you can be concerned about your looks, your clothes and accessories and still not sound or behave like a brainless twit. I like this example of young female teen, one who doesn't just sit around waiting to be saved. ( )