Shortcuts

Plot

For Ricky Kidd, this shortcut to adventure starts out as a dare form his best friend Mike Andrews -- and leads to a lesson he'd rather not have learned the hard way.
Another time, Ricky tries a sad and unsuccessful shortcut to riches by convincing his younger brother Joel that pennies and dimes grow like peanuts.
Not all of his shortcuts are so painful, though. There's the fight that Ricky wins by oustmarting the toughest guy in school. And the supernatural mystery he exposes as fraud. Or the award-winning story about a bitter Vietnam vet who finally finds peace.
But this isn't only a collection of adventures taking the Accidental Detectives gang in unexpected directions. Behind each story is another story -- the thoughts and background which led to each story, as author Sigmund Brouwer reflects on some tougher issues of growing up.