Rating: 2
Description: When he was fifteen, Lewis Hinton's parents told him he was adopted and related the strange tale of how a mysterious woman with a foreign accent handed Lewis to Avery Hinton in a basket. Since then, Lewis has been preoccupied, spending hours fishing on the rocks near Slippery Falls, where he swore he saw a gigantic trout the day after his birthday. Not even his best friend and secret crush, Amanda Dot, can bring Lewis out of his funk. Then, on his sixteenth birthday, his parents give him a letter from his birth mother, unopened after all these years. It turns out that Lewis's real name is Louis Poisson (French for "fish") and his mother, who signed the letter J.A. Poisson, may have been descended from French royalty. Overnight, Lewis becomes a celebrity in the small town of Slippery Falls, Idaho. Frustrated with all the unwanted attention, Lewis withdraws even more, doggedly pursuing his trout, much to the derision of the other fishermen. But Lewis's one-track mind could put him in danger when he launches a risky plan to finally catch the giant trout of Slippery Falls. Is Lewis really royalty? And will he survive long enough to find out?
Review: The premise of this book seemed unique and interesting, which is why I picked it up. Unfortunately, the original premise is pretty much the only good thing about it. Every plot element is only explored to the bare minimum, and they are only loosely connected. The characters are pretty flat and underdeveloped, except perhaps Lewis's spunky, 88-year-old friend, Maple Baderhoovenlisterah. The thing that really eats me, however, is that nothing is resolved in the end. Is Lewis French royalty? Do he and Amanda ever hook up? And what the heck is up with that giant fish?! "The King of Slippery Falls" had potential, but, in the end, it's completely unsatisfactory.