Toby

Toby, the child of a "slow" father and a brain-damaged mother, uses his very normal ten-year-old wits to survive peer pranks and adult do-gooders who want him placed in a foster home

Grade 5-8 Toby Thurston's family is different from most. His parents are illiterate, and his mother's speech is slurred as the result of an accident she suffered in high school. The family is hounded by the Rev. Olsen who, acting primarily from a guilty conscience, is trying to prove the Thurstons unfit parents and have Toby placed in a foster home. His tactic is to show that Toby is ``running wild.'' The reverend's son makes life miserable for Toby with insults about Toby's parents and taunts of ``re-tard.'' Toby is also falsely accused of stealing from a senile old woman by her belligerent son. Through all of their problems, one fact shines clearlyToby and his parents love and trust each other completely. This love is manifest in their attitudes toward each other and the world in which they exist. Talbert has woven a story filled with unforgettable characters. He shows readers how members of a family can truly love each other, the pettiness of some people, and the ugliness in some souls. Although the Thurston family is faced with a myriad of problems, readers will be left with the knowledge that this family will survive and flourish. Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, S.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.