Sarah Weeks is the singer, songwriter, and author of the best-selling picture books with tapes
Crocodile Smile and
Follow the Moon.
Guy Wire is the fourth novel in the highly successful middle-grade series that includes
Regular Guy, Guy Time, and
My Guy, which is in development to be a feature film. Sarah Weeks lives in New York City with her two sons.
In this simultaneously funny and poignant sequel to Regular Guy, Weeks returns to the life of 13-year-old Guy Strang. His parents have now separatedAhis father has moved to California, and his mother has been dating "geeky types," including his science teacher and a fellow who can play three kazoos at one time ("one in his mouth and one in each nostril"). Worse yet, she has begun painting her fingernails green ("Looks like you stuck your fingers into something nasty, like a giant's nose," quips Guy) and is threatening to pierce her navel. When Guy's best friend, Buzz, urges him "to quit moaning about your dad being gone and do something about it," together they type a letter on his mother's stationery, in which she apologizes to her husband and asks him to come home. The boys sign it with a lipstick kiss (after a hilarious scene in which they coat their lips and practice on scratch paper), then fax it to Guy's father. The missive does not, of course, produce the desired results, but sends a clear message nonetheless. Better grounded than its predecessor, this novel is similarly outr? in its humor but contains a number of genuinely affecting passagesAincluding Guy's reflections on his parents' split and his father's absence. Its deft balance of comedy and pathos and its credible characters will hit home. Ages 8-12. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.