Synopsis
Molly Moberly knows she doesn't belong in this small Missouri town with her great-aunt Fay. It's just a temporary arrangement -- until her mother gets out of the hospital. But then Molly meets Will, a fellow stray, and begins to realize she's not the only one on the outside. In fact, it seems like the town's full of strays -- only some end up where they belong sooner than others. Richard Peck has created a rich, compassionate story that will go straight to the heart of every kid who's ever felt like an outsider.
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About the Author
Richard Peck has written more than thirty novels, and in the process has become one of the country’s most highly respected writers for children. In fact The Washington Post called him America’s best living author for young adults.” A versatile writer, he is beloved by middle-graders as well as young adults for his historical and contemporary comedies and coming-of-age novels. He lives in New York City, and spends a great deal of time traveling around the country to speaking engagements at conferences, schools, and libraries.
Mr. Peck is the first children’s book author to have received a National Humanities Medal. He is a Newbery Medal winner (for A Year Down Yonder), a Newbery Honor winner (for A Long Way from Chicago), a two-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Edgar Award winner. In addition, he has won a number of major honors for the body of his work, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the ALAN Award, and the Medallion from the University of Southern Mississippi.
From Booklist
Gr. 5^-8. Peck is at his best in this wry, unsentimental story of three generations in small-town Missouri: their roots, their failures, their loving kindness. The narrator is 12-year-old Molly. Her druggie mother is unable to care for her, so Molly has been "dropped off" by a social worker with Great-aunt Fay, a practical nurse. Next door is Will McKinney, another stray, dropped off with his grandparents; they say that his dad's in jail. Nervous, funny, clever, the two new kids brave the jungle of junior high together, strangers in a place where "people already knew everybody they wanted to." Molly discovers that Will's house hides a heartbreaking secret--his father is dying of AIDS in the attic, deprived of hospital care because the family is afraid that the landlord will evict them if the shameful secret gets around town. It soon becomes clear that Molly and Will are not the only strays in town and that there are secrets even among the rich and settled. The needy locals--the home-schooled kid with too much mothering and Fay's spoiled, pampered old patient--are the least interesting characters, and the revelations about them seem set up. What holds you is Molly's understated, edgy empathy with Will and with the tough woman who has taken her in. Great-aunt Fay has helped nurse Will's dad at home; when he dies, she is grim: "I didn't know enough. I couldn't even keep him comfortable." Peck reveals the drama in our simple words and casual gestures. On Molly's first day in the school cafeteria, a girl throws out her hand, not in welcome, but to prevent the newcomer from sitting next to her. When Molly finally accepts the fact that her mother isn't coming back, she asks her great-aunt if she can stay. Fay's answer says it all: "There's a lot I can't do for you. But you're home." Hazel Rochman
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