I grew up near train tracks. They run behind my childhood home and they used to present a tempting playground for me and my sister. We could walk almost a mile down the tracks both ways. Where the tracks reached a small creek, we used to walk along the tresses. We have also attempted to smash pennies on the rails, with very limited success.

But train tracks aren’t the safest place to be and my parents would often forbid us or ground us for even going near them. One year we stepped in a hornets nest and ran all the way home, welts rising up on our skin where we had been stung. Another time my friend decided to go bridge jumping off the tresses and ended up injuring her knee falling into shallow water. Luckily none of us were ever brave enough to try the stunts that Wells’ Ben McQueen did in his book, The Wrong Side of the Tracks: Books 1 and 2.

Steven is a middle class kid whose father just left him and his mother. They were forced to move to a low-income neighborhood in an “Anytown, USA” where they live on the wrong side of the tracks. A typical 14 year old boy, Steven spends his time running around on the train tracks near his home with other boys his age.

Ben is a 17 years old juvenile delinquent that is also Steven’s best friend. Ben has a rough home life and has learned to hit first and ask questions later, a habit that has given him a bad reputation at the high school. Despite this, Ben’s natural charm wins him over with girls, teachers and moms alike.

Tommy is Ben’s little brother and also his little shadow. He’s a smaller, more innocent version of his older brother.

Monk and Torch are both young boys who go to the same high school as Steven. They both fit the description of “delinquent” quite well. While Torch’s obvious aptitude lies in setting fires, Monk is more of Torch’s side kick. He has no obvious motives, interests or strong points.

Kevin is Ben’s only friend with a car. He often drives Ben and his friends, including Steven, to school. He’s a hot-headed kid and dreams of moving away from their low income neighborhood and leaving poverty behind him when he enters college.

With Steven’s dad out of the picture, Steve looks to Ben as an example of what a man should be. While Ben isn’t exactly the best role model, he does teach Steven about bravery, standing up for what’s right and going after girls. Unfortunately, he also teaches Steven about running away from your problems, accepted your fate no matter what and having an unhealthy sense of invincibility. He even begins calling Steven a juvenile delinquent like it’s a badge of honor.

Finally, about the time that Ben fully accepts his charge as Steven’s male role model, things get a little harry and no one will go unscarred from the unexpected conclusion.

I love to read Mike Wells’ books. He has such a way with bringing us into the story. He slowly introduces us to the main characters so that we can get to know them naturally as opposed to other authors who seem to rush the introductions in order to get the story underway as soon as possible.

I also love that he can take a story about everyday life, such as this one, and turn it into a true adventure. The story starts off slow and by the end we’re racing towards the final showdown. Mark Torres, the narrator for the audio book, did an excellent job of proving just this with the reading pace he kept. I couldn’t help but smile when he would imitate Tommy as well. He seemed like the perfect match for this story. Earlier this summer Wells and Torres spoke about what makes a good narrator.

The story itself seems to be a timeless story. If it wasn’t for the cell phone Steven’s mother owns, I would have said that this story would have taken place anywhere from the 70’s to 90’s. It’s got some of the classic behavior of boys such as playing on tracks, jumping trains, camping out, hanging out barefoot and hitch hiking – things that most boys nowadays to not participate in after a certain age. Overall, I give The Wrong Side of the Tracks 5 stars and recommend it for anyone from teens to adults, especially boys – that is as long as they don’t get any hair-brained ideas about hanging out on the railroad tracks.

Oh and just a word of advice: The audio books seems to be $2 cheaper on Amazon.com as opposed to Audible.com if you choose to purchase it to listen to, which I highly recommend.

Have you recently read a book that reminded you of your childhood? What was it?

Photography of tracks courtesy of Alan Rogers.