Don’t know about you guys, but I was constantly scratching my head anytime Elmore threw in dates of different inventions or mentioned historical figures in The Hot Kid. Can’t recall any specifics, but my own sense of late 19th/early 20th century history was shot all to hell anytime Elmore would mention a date in that book. It seemed like he used a lot of artistic liberties, shall we say, with the dates of certain historical references he used. That was my impression anyway, and I’ve yet to verify if his dates are correct or my recollection of them is just way out of whack.
And it wasn’t just historical dates that threw me, it was the back and forth of certian characters’ stories and ages that had me constantly doing math in my head to keep Elmore honest. (Not that he would be off with his math, it’s just that some of the dates didn’t seem to add up at first.)
Normally Elmore’s books don’t have that kind of effect on me. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’m just sharing something that really seemed to keep me on my toes when I read that book. It remains one of my favorite EL books.
Any of you guys have similar experiences with that book?