More Than a Hashtag

De: Penny Poulsen Watson

Narrado por: Aaron Fors

A teen discovers a dark secret . . .Can he do what’s right, even when it all goes wrong?

High school freshmen, Tee and his best friend Chilly, depend on each other against bullies and girls that keep them guessing. As sightings of a dangerous Cajun legend turn up, the boys must find the truth everyone else fears. When they uncover a threat to Chilly’s brother, they’re determined to save him. But can they unravel the mystery before it’s too late?

Tee must trust in his friendships and found family to navigate the murky waters of the bayou. . . or become another victim of its shadows.

A modern classic in the tradition of Tom Sawyer and To Kill a Mockingbird, More Than a Hashtag transports listeners to the charming and unique Louisiana Bayou, where Watson captures the essence of the South and tells a journey of courage, grief, and broken homes.

Grab a paddle and join Tee and Chilly today!

©2023 Penny Poulsen Watson (P)2024 Penny Poulsen Watson

Great Narration, Engaging Story

"More Than a Hashtag" is all set to be the tale of an easygoing Louisiana childhood... until cold, hard reality comes crashing in. There's a flash-forward at the beginning, so I'm not spoiling anything by saying that young Thomas Edison (not the inventor), called "Tee", is taken in by his grandfather after he loses his immediate family. To find out what happened, we go back in time and follow Tee's friendship with his buddy Chilly, his writing lessons, his school crush, his fear of the local swamp monster, and other slices of life... until a sinister outsider begins to interfere with their small-town life. I went back and forth on the dating of this story (it's recent enough for the grandfather to refer to Tee as a "hashtag", but old enough for these rural characters to have flip phones) until I realized that an early chapter pointed to 2008 as the present year.

A lot of the appeal lies in the character descriptions and dialogue, which contain a host of hilarious idioms I'd never encountered before. Speaking of which, I loved the description of the Rougarou ("ROO-guh-roo"): a werewolf-like swamp creature that terrorizes children, yet can be fully impeded by placing 13 items on one's porch. You see... the Rougarou can only count to 12, and even one additional item will keep him occupied all night with recount efforts. I just assumed this was a fun invention of the book, until I stopped to look him up. I consider it professional malfeasance that I'd never heard of this cryptid before, so I'm thankful to the book for bringing me up to speed.

But I'm burying the lede! The real feature that led me to this book was its narration by the multi-talented actor Aaron Fors, who lends his voice to the cast of roughly 40 characters in the book. Fors's performance spans the range from carefree childhood hijinks to serious drama, and his energy and enthusiasm are infectious. You can feel just how much fun he's having in the process. Plus, Fors's attention to the accuracy of the dialects, representing Louisiana and beyond, is astonishing. I got to chat with him after I finished the book, and was amazed (but not surprised) that he was able to perform linearly, shifting back and forth between the characters. There's no way I could have kept any of that straight in my head. Anyway, it's a delightful listen, and the audiobook is the way to go.