Sunday, October 12, 2008
A Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
I think this is a first. Never before have I read a sequel before reading the original novel. (At least as far as I can recall.) (The Discworld books don't count. They aren't organized in a proper order, are they? You can't call a book a sequel unless it's called a sequel on the cover.) (Well, I suppose I can make an exception if it has a number on the spine.) I usually hold out for the original, but in this case my daughter's curriculum assigned her to read this volume and, unlike my daughter, I wasn't able to check the original out in time. (Smart kid. Must take after her mum.) Anyway, A Year Down Yonder is the tale of Mary Alice, a teenaged Chicago girl suffering from the recession of 1937. Her father has lost her job and the only way the family can make ends meet is if Mary Alice goes down to live with her Grandma in downstate Illinois. With a premise like that, one would envision a warm tale of discovery as the city girl discovers the wonder and beauty of rural life in the loving care of her kind and wise grandmother. Yes, that's quite a vision. In this tale, however, Grandma's a cantankerous old bird with a shotgun behind the woodbox and a reputation for causing trouble. It makes for an enjoyable book. Mr. Peck doesn't quite offer us a laugh riot, but there are plenty of chuckles, a few surprises and occasionally something that feels like a tug on the heartstrings. I probably should try to check out this book's predecessor.
I'm glad to have checked it out.
LibraryThing link
I think this is a first. Never before have I read a sequel before reading the original novel. (At least as far as I can recall.) (The Discworld books don't count. They aren't organized in a proper order, are they? You can't call a book a sequel unless it's called a sequel on the cover.) (Well, I suppose I can make an exception if it has a number on the spine.) I usually hold out for the original, but in this case my daughter's curriculum assigned her to read this volume and, unlike my daughter, I wasn't able to check the original out in time. (Smart kid. Must take after her mum.) Anyway, A Year Down Yonder is the tale of Mary Alice, a teenaged Chicago girl suffering from the recession of 1937. Her father has lost her job and the only way the family can make ends meet is if Mary Alice goes down to live with her Grandma in downstate Illinois. With a premise like that, one would envision a warm tale of discovery as the city girl discovers the wonder and beauty of rural life in the loving care of her kind and wise grandmother. Yes, that's quite a vision. In this tale, however, Grandma's a cantankerous old bird with a shotgun behind the woodbox and a reputation for causing trouble. It makes for an enjoyable book. Mr. Peck doesn't quite offer us a laugh riot, but there are plenty of chuckles, a few surprises and occasionally something that feels like a tug on the heartstrings. I probably should try to check out this book's predecessor.
I'm glad to have checked it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 5:33 PM 
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