Walking Across Egypt - Softcover

Edgerton, Clyde

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345419073 ISBN 13: 9780345419071

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1997

Synopsis

She has as much business keeping a stray dog as she would walking across Egypt–which not so incidentally is the title of her favorite hymn. She’s Mattie Rigsbee, an independent, strong-minded senior citizen who, at seventy-eight, might be slowing down just a bit. When teenage delinquent Wesley Benfield drops in on her life, he is even less likely a companion than the stray dog. But, of course, the dog never tasted her mouth-watering pound cake. Wise and witty, down-home and real, Walking Across Egypt is a book for everyone.

About this title

About the Author:

Clyde Edgerton lives in Apex, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and now teaches at St. Andrew's College, Laurinburg.

From School Library Journal:

YA A quietly humorous story set in a small town in North Carolina. Seventy-eight year old Mattie Riggsbee, spunky and determined, has one regret: she has no grandchildren, as her son and daughter inconveniently remain unmarried. The story gathers momentum after a slightly sluggish start, when Wesley Benfield, wayward teenager and orphan, comes into Mattie's life. Their need for each other is apparent, and their attempts to get together, despite the disapproval of Mattie's family and neighbors, are the focus of the story. Wesley is captivated by Mattie's good cooking and grandmotherly attention, and when he escapes from a house of detention, he heads straight to Mattie. There is a hilarious scene in church, where the fleeing Wesley and the pursuing deputy sheriff, both disguised as choir members, sit beside each other in full view of the congregation. Edgerton infuses all of his characters with reality, and provides a balanced perspective on age and youth. His understanding of teenagers is nowhere more evident than in the contrast between the reality of Wesley's situation and the humor of his exaggerated fantasies. Rita G. Keeler, St. John's School, Houston
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0345419073
• ISBN 13: 9780345419071
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 215