Somewhere in the Darkness - Grade Level Equivalent: 5.5
Teenaged Jimmy Little hasn't seen his father, Crab, since he was a baby. He learns that his father's been in jail for nine years for armed robbery, and has been accused of killing a man. Up until now, Jimmy's protected from these harsh realities, living with his devoted grandmother, Mama Jean, until one day, Jimmy is surprised by the appearance of Crab, now critically ill, who has escaped from prison so that he can win the respect of his son before he dies. Suddenly, Jimmy is whisked away from his stable home life and is on the run with is father. But despite being reunited with his son, and the opportunity for change it opens up, Crab is unable to break free of a lifestyle of stealing and moving on that leaves little room to establish a secure father/son relationship. On their highway odyssey, Crab becomes increasingly sick with a kidney ailment. And after a climactic encounter with the man who accused him, Crab is again arrested and hospitalized.
Myers' terse dialogue and characterizations create a father and son who remain mysteries to one another, and Myers skillfully keeps epiphanies and answers at bay. But by story's end Myers presents us with a character in Jimmy who understands that to appreciate someone else's life you must first give meaning to your own. A winner of numerous awards, including a 1993 Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Honor.
Touching Spirit Bear - Grade Level Equivalent: 5.4
"Mikaelsen tells a gory survival story that evolves into an inspiring and sophisticated coming-of-age journey. . . . Cole's journey to self-realization and truth through hardship, confrontation, and ritual will fascinate young and old . . . and have everyone waiting for the sequel." — Voice of Youth Advocates
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant- Grade Level Equivalent: 6.7
When May dies suddenly while gardening, Summer assumes she'll never see her beloved aunt again. But then Summer's
Uncle Ob claims that May is on her way back — she has sent a sign from the spirit world. Summer isn't sure she believes in the spirit world, but her quirky classmate Cletus Underwood — who befriends Ob during his time of mourning — does.
So at Cletus' suggestion, Ob and Summer (with Cletus in tow) set off in search of Miriam B. Young, Small Medium at
Large, whom they hope will explain May's departure and confirm her possible return.
Crash by Jerry Spinelli - Grade Level Equivalent: 4.8
Spinelli (There's a Girl in My Hammerlock) takes the brawny, bullying jock who is the villain in so many middle-grade novels and casts him as the narrator of this agile tale. Ever since first grade "Crash" Coogan has been tormenting dweeby
Penn Ward, a skinny vegetarian Quaker boy who lives in a tiny former garage with his aged parents. Now that they're in seventh grade, "chippy chirpy perky" Penn becomes an even better target: not only does Penn still wear outdated used clothes, he joins the cheerleading squad. But even though Crash becomes the school's star football player and wears the most expensive togs from the mall, he still can't get what Penn has?his parents' attention and the admiration of the most gorgeous girl in school. And when his beloved grandfather Scooter is severely disabled by a stroke, Crash no longer sees the fun in playing brutal pranks and begins to realize that there are more important things in life than wearing new sneaks and being a sports star. Without being preachy, Spinelli packs a powerful moral wallop, leaving it to the pitch-perfect narration to drive home his point. All ages.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Holes by Louis Sachar - Grade Level Equivalent: 5.2
An absolutely incredible book for young readers, Holes tells an amazingly entertaining tale that shouldn't be missed.
The main story follows Stanley Yelnats who is wrongly accused of a crime and sent to a camp along with other juveline deliquents to dig holes under the merciless blaze of the sun... what happens next I won't say so I don't spoil the plot, but what unfolds makes this a great book to read, one that as I've said before, you want your child to miss.
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Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit – Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
Imagine coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever--isn't that everyone's ideal? For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their reaction to their fate is surprising. Award winner Natalie Babbitt (Knee-Knock Rise, The
Search for Delicious) outdoes herself in this sensitive, moving adventure in which 10-year-old Winnie Foster is kidnapped, finds herself helping a murderer out of jail, and is eventually offered the ultimate gift--but doesn't know whether to accept it. Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of life and death, and leaves the reader with a

greater appreciation for the perfect cycle of nature. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck Everlasting will last forever--in the reader's imagination. An ALA Notable Book. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
"Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life...Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth." --The Horn
Monster by Walter Dean Myers- Grade Level Equivalent: 7.1
"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script format. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that provide insight into Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."
Myers, known for the inner-city classic Motown and Didi (first published in 1984), proves with Monster that he has kept up with both the struggles and the lingo of today's teens. Steve is an adolescent caught up in the violent circumstances of an adult world--a situation most teens can relate to on some level. Readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-style typeface, emphasis on dialogue, and fast-paced courtroom action. By weaving together Steve's journal entries and his script, Myers has given the first-person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work.) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep- Grade Level Equivalent: 6.1
Laurence Yep's Newbery Honor book (HarperCollins, 1975) offers insights into the lives of Chinese-Americans in early
20th century California. The story begins as eight-year-old Moon Shadow Lee journeys across the Pacific to join his proud and clever father at the family-owned laundry in San Francisco. The boy recounts their problems with prejudice, as well as the kindness of uncles and cousins. Father and son must leave the protection of the family to move out of
Chinatown, but they find refuge with a generous and friendly landlady. Once they have successfully established a repair business, they turn their attention to making a flying machine. Though it's a modern invention, part of their motivation is the elder's belief in his own previous dragon existence. Yep draws heavily on his own heritage, but also includes figures such as Teddy Roosevelt and the Wright Brothers, and historic events such as the San Francisco Earthquake. The result is a heartwarming story set in a familiar time and place, but told from a new perspective. The quiet intensity of B. D. Wong's narration enriches the text as he creates memorable voices for a large cast of characters. Wafting, ethereal music signals the end of each side of the cassette, and the cover art is attractive. The only problem is the lightweight cardboard package, which is not sturdy enough for heavy circulation. That shouldn't deter libraries from purchasing this fine recording which will provide upper elementary and middle school listeners with lessons in history, and a gentle reminder of the value of a loving family and loyal friends.
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry- Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
Lois Lowry's magnificent novel of the distant future, The Giver, is set in a highly technical and emotionally repressed society. This eagerly awaited companion volume, by contrast, takes place in a village with only the most rudimentary technology, where anger, greed, envy, and casual cruelty make ordinary people's lives short and brutish. This society, like the one portrayed in The Giver, is controlled by merciless authorities with their own complex agendas and secrets. And at the center of both stories there is a young person who is given the responsibility of preserving the memory of the culture-and who finds the vision to transform it.
Kira, newly orphaned and lame from birth, is taken from the turmoil of the village to live in the grand Council Edifice because of her skill at embroidery. There she is given the task of restoring the historical pictures sewn on the robe worn at the annual Ruin Song Gathering, a solemn day-long performance of the story of their world's past. Down the hall lives
Thomas the Carver, a young boy who works on the intricate symbols carved on the Singer's staff, and a tiny girl who is being trained as the next Singer. Over the three artists hovers the menace of authority, seemingly kind but suffocating to their creativity, and the dark secret at the heart of the Ruin Song.

With the help of a cheerful waif called Matt and his little dog, Kira at last finds the way to the plant that will allow her to create the missing color--blue--and, symbolically, to find the courage to shape the future by following her art wherever it may lead. With astonishing originality, Lowry has again created a vivid and unforgettable setting for this thrilling story that raises profound questions about the mystery of art, the importance of memory, and the centrality of love. (--Patty
Campbell --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen- Grade Level Equivalent: 5.8
Roy is 13 years old and is always moving. He is always the new kid on the block. He never accomplished much. Mullet
Fingers is also a 13 year old boy and he doesn't go to school. Mullet Fingers notices these owls that were going to die because of a pancake house. Beatrice is a girl who goes to the same school as Roy and is Mullet Fingers' step sister.
Together, the three of them try to save the birds. But saving them was a far bigger task then they imagined.
This book made me think about how cool it would be to make a huge change in my environment. To me it would be awesome to work with animals like Roy, Mullet Fingers, and Beatrice did.
I would recommend this book to a reader who enjoys animals, and their environment. I would also say that when you read this book you can see how hard these friends struggle to save a group of owls. This book has many powerful and descriptive words. I had a lot of fun reading it. If you are a person looking to find a new book to read I suggest that you read this one. I could not put the book down. Carl Hiaasen has made Hoot a book that's not only an exciting book to read, it's a book that's inspiring.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George- Grade Level Equivalent: 5.6
Miyax, like many adolescents, is torn. But unlike most, her choices may determine whether she lives or dies. At 13, an orphan, and unhappily married, Miyax runs away from her husband's parents' home, hoping to reach San Francisco and her pen pal. But she becomes lost in the vast Alaskan tundra, with no food, no shelter, and no idea which is the way to safety. Now, more than ever, she must look hard at who she really is. Is she Miyax, Eskimo girl of the old ways? Or is she
Julie (her "gussak"-white people-name), the modernized teenager who must mock the traditional customs? And when a pack of wolves begins to accept her into their community, Miyax must learn to think like a wolf as well. If she trusts her
Eskimo instincts, will she stand a chance of surviving? John Schoenherr's line drawings suggest rather than tell about the compelling experiences of a girl searching for answers in a bleak landscape that at first glance would seem to hold nothing. Fans of Jean Craighead George's stunning, Newberry Medal-winning coming-of-age story won't want to miss
Julie (1994) and Julie's Wolf Pack (1998). -Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli- Grade Level Equivalent: 6.1
"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl."
In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wideeyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating the achievements of others. In the ultimate high school symbol of acceptance, she is even recruited as a cheerleader. Popularity, of course, is a fragile and fleeting state, and bit by bit, Mica sours on their new idol. Why is Stargirl showing up at the funerals of strangers? Worse, why does she cheer for the opposing basketball teams? The growing hostility comes to a head when she is verbally flogged by resentful students on Leo's televised Hot Seat show in an episode that is too terrible to air. While the playful, chin-held-high
Stargirl seems impervious to the shunning that ensues, Leo, who is in the throes of first love (and therefore scornfully deemed "Starboy"), is not made of such strong stuff: "I became angry. I resented having to choose. I refused to choose. I imagined my life without her and without them, and I didn't like it either way."
Jerry Spinelli, author of Newbery Medalist Maniac Magee, Newbery Honor Book Wringer, and many other excellent books for teens, elegantly and accurately captures the collective, not-always-pretty emotions of a high school microcosm in which individuality is pitted against conformity. Spinelli's Stargirl is a supernatural teen character--absolutely egoless, altruistic, in touch with life's primitive rhythms, meditative, untouched by popular culture, and supremely self-confident.
It is the sensitive Leo whom readers will relate to as he grapples with who she is, who he is, who they are together as
Stargirl and Starboy, and indeed, what it means to be a human being on a planet that is rich with wonders--Karin Snelson -
-This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Library Card by Jerry Spinelli- Grade Level Equivalent: 5.8
A library card is a kind of magic ticket: a passport to places distant--unknown--even forbidden. In his latest offering,
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes that idea and spins it until the story, its characters, and all of us are dizzy, and offers it as a prize to young readers up for the ride.
The magic library card that turns up in the four separate stories in this book is a ticket to whatever each young character needs most at the time. Each story is imaginative, surprising, and well beyond the "books are good for you" theme one might expect from a tome with this title.
To the reader, it's almost Twilight Zone-y. The 12-ish kids in these stories face varied turning points as they move toward adolescence. They all find their way thanks to a mysterious blue card that seems to have materialized from nowhere.
Street kid Mongoose must decide whether to follow a friend clearly on his way to trouble or seek his own path. April, just moved from New York to an isolated farm, needs a friend. Deprived of television for a week, young Brenda must learn to handle her restlessness and figure out who, besides those goofballs on television, lives inside her head. A grieving
Sonseray, barely realizing he's in need, finds comfort and a reassuring connection to his dead mother.
For many kids, the library is just that place where the Ghostbusters first got slimed. This book offers a reminder of the
"real" spirits waiting on every shelf. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech - Grade Level Equivalent: 6.0
THE BOOK "Walk Two Moons" is an excellent book. It tells the story of a young girl's life after her mom leaves her and her dad gives her a new step mother. It also tells how she starts her new life in a new town and a new school with a lot of new friends and people. It will make you want to read it for hours non-stop, I promise.
Hoops by Walter Dean Myers- Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who, after being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.
All eyes are on seventeen-year-old Lonnie Jackson while he practices with his team for a city-wide basketball Tournament of Champions. His coach, Cal, knows Lonnie has what it takes to be a pro-basketball player, but warns him about giving in to the pressure. Cal knows because he, too, once had the chance--but sold out.
As the Tournament nears, Lonnie learns that some heavy bettors want Cal to keep him on the bench so that the team will lose the championship. As the last seconds of the game tick away Lonnie and Cal must make a decision. Are they eilling to blow the chance of a lifetime?
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman- Grade Level Equivalent: 4.9
Sometimes, even in the middle of ugliness and neglect, a little bit of beauty will bloom. Award-winning writer Paul
Fleischman dazzles us with this truth in Seedfolks--a slim novel that bursts with hope. Wasting not a single word,
Fleischman unfolds a story of a blighted neighborhood transformed when a young girl plants a few lima beans in an abandoned lot. Slowly, one by one, neighbors are touched and stirred to action as they see tendrils poke through the dirt.
Hispanics, Haitians, Koreans, young, and old begin to turn the littered lot into a garden for the whole community. A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Taking Sides by Gary Soto Grade Level Equivalent: 5.7
This touchingly realistic story explores the divided loyalties of a Hispanic basketball player who has recently moved from a poor neighborhood to a more affluent one. Initially, eighth grader Lincoln feels like a traitor when he plays ball for the predominantly white school he now attends. To make matters worse, his new coach seems to hold a grudge against both
Lincoln and his former school, Franklin Junior High. As a game against Franklin approaches, tension mounts and Lincoln experiences clashes with several people, including some teammates. But he manages to have fun on the night of the big game and eventually makes peace with his friends. Once again, Soto ( Baseball in April ) masterfully conveys the
Hispanic-American experience, and readers will respect Lincoln's values and good sportsmanship. Ultimately, the boy learns to adjust to a new situation and accept new challenges without compromising his individuality..

Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
The Giver by Lois Lowry Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old
Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Taking Sides
From Publishers Weekly
This touchingly realistic story explores the divided loyalties of a Hispanic basketball player who has recently moved from a poor neighborhood to a more affluent one. Initially, eighth grader Lincoln feels like a traitor when he plays ball for the predominantly white school he now attends. To make matters worse, his new coach seems to hold a grudge against both
Lincoln and his former school, Franklin Junior High. As a game against Franklin approaches, tension mounts and Lincoln experiences clashes with several people, including some teammates. But he manages to have fun on the night of the big game and eventually makes peace with his friends. Once again, Soto ( Baseball in April ) masterfully conveys the
Hispanic-American experience, and readers will respect Lincoln's values and good sportsmanship. Ultimately, the boy learns to adjust to a new situation and accept new challenges without compromising his individuality. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7-- This light but appealing story deals with cultural differences, moving, and basketball. Eighth-grader Lincoln
Mendoza and his mother have just moved from a San Francisco barrio to a wealthy, predominantly white suburb. He misses his Hispanic friends, the noise, camaraderie, and even the dirt and fights in his old neighborhood. Having made first-string on the basketball team, he finds that the coach dislikes him for no good reason. Plot development hinges on an upcoming game between his new school and the old one. As the big day approaches, Lincoln cannot decide which team he wants to win. He's not sure where he truly belongs, but the game helps to clarify this for him. Readers will easily understand the boy's dilemma. The conflicts of old vs. new and Hispanic vs. white culture are clearly delineated. So is the fact that the differences are not as great as they first appear. Lincoln is a typical adolescent: energetic, likable, moody at times, but adaptable. Other characters are less finely drawn. The coach is the stereotypical obnoxious jock. Lincoln's divorced mother works hard and tries to be a good parent. Her boyfriend Roy is a minor player but he helps Lincoln to deal with his problems. Because of its subject matter and its clear, straightforward prose, the book will be especially good for reluctant readers. A glossary of Spanish words appears at the end of the book. --Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall
Middle School, Greensboro,
Missing May
Amazon.com Review
This wonderful book revolves around a few delightfully named characters: Summer, Uncle Ob, Aunt May and Cletus
Underwood. After being passed among relatives, Summer joins her aunt and uncle and marvels at the couple's deep love for one another. But after Aunt May dies, Summer and Uncle Ob are brought together in their struggles to come to terms with the death. Cletus, a neighbor boy, comes along to help provide an answer. This simple and sweet story, which won the Newbery Medal in 1993, is injected with just the right touches of humor and mysticism. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
This short novel is a study of grief--chiefly, that felt by Summer after her foster mother's sudden death, but also her sorrow at witnessing the grief of Ob, her foster father--she realizes that she herself may not be reason enough for him to go on living. And for several months it seems as if he may not in fact go on, until Summer and Ob take a short car trip that somehow transforms their lives. In a direct, matter-of-fact voice occasionally laced with irony and wry humor, Summer articulates many discerning insights about sorrow and loss. The reader remains a distant observer of her emotions, however--perhaps because the novel begins after May's death, making her a less immediate figure, perhaps because
Summer's perceptions are quite sophisticated, even adult. And the novel's emotional turning point is difficult to grasp,

either verbally or intuitively: all Summer, and we, know is that "something happened to Ob" to make him embrace life fully again. Ages 11-up.
Touching Spirit Bear
Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear.
Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility.
Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. The jacket cover photo of the author in a bear hug with the
700-pound black bear that he and his wife adopted and raised is definitely worth seeing! (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie
Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Gr 7 Up-Cole Matthews is a violent teen offender convicted of viciously beating a classmate, Peter, causing neurological and psychological problems. Cole elects to participate in Circle Justice, an alternative sentencing program based on traditional Native American practices that results in his being banished to a remote Alaskan Island where he is left to survive for a year. Cynical and street smart, he expects to fake his way through the preliminaries, escape by swimming off the island, and beat the system, again. But his encounter with the Spirit Bear of the title leaves him desperately wounded and gives him six months of hospitalization to reconsider his options. Mikaelsen's portrayal of this angry, manipulative, damaged teen is dead on. Cole's gradual transformation into a human kind of being happens in fits and starts. He realizes he must accept responsibility for what he has done, but his pride, pain, and conditioning continue to interfere. He learns that his anger may never be gone, but that he can learn to control it. The author concedes in a note that the culminating plot element, in which Peter joins Cole on the island so that both can learn to heal, is unlikely. But it sure works well as an adventure story with strong moral underpinnings. Gross details about Cole eating raw worms, a mouse, and worse will appeal to fans of the outdoor adventure/survival genre, while the truth of the Japanese proverb cited in the frontispiece,
"Fall seven times, stand up eight" is fully and effectively realized.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa
City, IA
Somewhere in the Darkness
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-- A poignant story of motherless, 14-year-old Jimmy Little, whose convict father takes him on a search for truth, identity, and family. Whisked away from the stability of a homelife with his devoted grandmother, Mama Jean,
Jimmy confronts the harsh realities of his father's life on the run. Jailed for his involvement in an armed robbery and falsely accused of killing a man, Crab escapes from prison to convince his son of his innocence. What Jimmy discovers is a man desperate to establish a relationship with his son but unable to break free of a lifestyle of stealing and moving on that leaves little room for security. On their highway odyssey, Crab becomes increasingly sick with a kidney ailment.
Following a climactic encounter with the man who accused him, Crab is again arrested and hospitalized. For Jimmy, the flicker of hope that he and his father might work things out becomes a realization that love is built on trust, concern, and honesty. Through terse dialogue and characterization, Myers conveys a powerful message about the need for parent and child to believe in and respect one another. By story's end, the boy understands that to fully appreciate someone else's life you must first give meaning to your own. Whether from urban or rural backgrounds, single or double parent families, readers will find this universal journey of self-discovery gratifying. --Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School,
Durham, NC
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
An eminent author who's excelled with both tragedy (Scorpions, 1988, Newbery Honor) and funny, lighthearted novels writes in a serious vein but offers a realistic gleam of hope. Jimmy, 14, has been raised by his beloved, dependable
``Mama Jean,'' a friend of parents he doesn't remember; his mother is dead, and his dad, ``Crab,'' is in prison for killing a man in an armed robbery. Suddenly Crab shows up, claiming that he's on parole and has a job in Chicago. Jimmy agrees to go with him, but Crab's lies begin to unravel even before they leave New York: he has kidney failure, and has escaped from a prison hospital (``When they start operating on an inmate, I don't know what they'd be thinking''); the job is an

illusion. The two go on to Arkansas, where Crab hopes old friend Rydell will vouch for his innocence: Crab was convicted of murder as the result of another associate's plea-bargaining. Rydell, who once betrayed Crab with his silence, betrays him again by calling the police; Crab surrenders, then dies soon after in the hospital. Myers builds a poignant picture here of a failed man whose clumsy reaching out to his son comes too late to make a real bond. Yet Crab does leave a legacy: going home to Mama Jean, Jimmy--a bright, honest, loving boy who has recently been floundering in his innercity school and exhibiting signs of real depression--resolves that the next generation will be different: ``He would know just how he was like his son...and where their souls touched and where they didn't.'' Sober, thought-provoking, rich in insight and detail: another splendid achievement. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.