Cartwheel: A Sequel to Double Eagle by Sneed B. Collard III

In the summer of 1975, two years after their Confederacy gold discovery, Mike and Kyle reunite to rescue Annie, Kyle’s sister, from her abusive uncle. The three runaway teens head to Denver to not only avoid the police but to pursue clues for a rare coin--the 1964 Peace Dollar. As the clues unfold about the coin, Annie reveals that she was never abused by her uncle. She only made up the story to get Kyle to take her away so they could be together again. When their uncle shows up in Denver, Mike frantically puts the clues together to find the missing silver dollar.

In this story, Collard takes readers along the back roads of the United States, visiting such places as Oneonta, Alabama; Warrensburg, Missouri; and Dodge City, Kansas. During this road-trip, Mike makes two important realizations about his life: first, his family situation is not ideal, but it is better than what Kyle and Annie face; second, his step-father and Annie's uncle are both bullies. Mike saw that bullies only go against someone emotionally weaker than themselves. When Mike realizes he is emotionally stronger than Annie's uncle, he confidently faces her uncle's threats head-on and leaves the victor. Fans of Double Eagle will enjoy this diverting sequel as they travel cross-country with Mike, Kyle, and Annie in a 1957 Bel Air.

Double Eagle by Sneed B. Collard III

Mike is dreading the summer with his marine biologist dad in Florida. But plans change when Mike’s dad decides to teach a summer course on an island off Alabama’s coast. Soon after his arrival, Mike makes friends with Kyle, a charismatic southern boy who is familiar with the island. While hanging out at an old Civil War fort, Mike happens upon a gold Confederate coin. When the boys look for more coins, they can’t. They find help in a local man whose ancestry goes back to the time the coins arrived at the fort.

Collard creates an unpredictable story by expertly weaving together Civil War history, rare coins, a disastrous hurricane, and an unlikely friendship. In many young adult stories involving the discovery of a missing artifact, it usually seems far-fetched that the teen characters are the only ones who find the lost item, even after experts have tried and failed. But in Double Eagle, Collard sets up a realistic premise where it’s plausible that Mike and Kyle are the only ones who find the Confederate gold. They had a crucial piece of Civil War history that other experts didn’t have. If readers enjoyed the friendship of Mike and Kyle and their search for rare coins, readers will be happy to know that Collard published a sequel called Cartwheel.