Back to School Book Report - Cassie's Ordeal

Since our dear author, PK Corey, is just starting back to school, I decided this book report will be my first assignment for the new school year.  This report will go to PK anyway before I post it.  I don't think she will grade it; she may, however, give it a pass or fail.  Then again, since it's her last year teaching, she may not care at all.  When you know it's your last year in the classroom, you can sometimes develop a devil-may-care attitude about grades.  Just to be sure, though, I will watch my grammar and punctuation.

Title: Cassie's Ordeal (7th in the Cassie's series!)

Author: PK Corey

Number of Pages: 158

Themes: Honesty, Trust, Love, and Family

Main Characters: 

• Cassie - Is the sweet and happy heroine of her books. 
  
  Although she and her husband, Tom, have been married for many years, she is still full of love and passion for the man.  I have compared her before to Lucy Ricardo, and I stand by my choice.  She is constantly finding ways to split hairs about Tom's decrees and then landing herself in hot water.  In this book a stranger gives us a reason to actually fear for the safety of our Cassie.  This provides the story with some drama not found  in her earlier books.

• Tom - Is Cassie's devoted husband.  He adores his Cassie, but she finds him a bit too bossy at times.  If Tom thinks Cassie is bending his rules, he does not hesitate to deliver a stinging spanking to her bottom.  Really, though, he is a very protective man who loves to pamper his wife.  The plot twists in this book show us a new, more serious dimension to Tom's character.

 

 

• Sue - One of Cassie's closest friends.  Sue even identifies herself as Ethel to Cassie's Lucy in "...Ordeal."  She is famous for leading Cassie astray and mouthing off to Tom.  In this latest story, though, I finally learned to love Sue when she tells part of the tale from her point of view.

• Allie and Ryan - a young couple who have become a very important part of Cassie's "family" of friends.

• Bad Guy - There IS one, and that's all I'm going to say!

Setting - Mostly Tom and Cassie's home along the river.

All the Other Book Report Stuff -

Cassie's Ordeal starts off pretty much like her other stories.  We see Cassie and Sue off on an adventure that certainly does not follow Tom's wishes to the letter.  What happens after her car breaks down

is hilarious and reminiscent of a silent Keystone Cops episode.  Cassie plans to keep it all a secret until her guilt becomes too much for her.  After Tom delivers his brand of justice, one of the most beautiful lines of the book is when Cassie says, "We came together in our dance of love."  Gosh, I surely like that quote.

When the mysterious phone calls start, Cassie simply doesn't see anything except a confused caller.  She realizes too late that the calls were part of a more sinister presence.  In this gripping part of

the book, the story is told from Sue's point of view, and her panic is electric.  We also see a side of Tom that put a tear in my eye.  It was so tender when he climbed into the hospital bed with Cassie once this episode was resolved.  My favorite line here was, "Poor Ryan, he looked as though the hounds of hell were chewing on his heart."

Things slowly return to normal along Cassie's stretch of the river.  She is back to pushing up against Tom's rules.  Lots of fun and a good many trips across his knee.  There are even some very special moments when Cassie gets a gift from her young friend Ryan that she never expected.

Cassie's Ordeal marks a significant step in the bigger context of the Cassie series.  This book delivered a punch that wasn't all humor.  The diverse characters we have come to know have finally bonded into a real family in the resolution of this story.  Damn good book, PK.  Thanks.