A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, a 2001 Newbery Medal winner, is the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago (read my book review), which won Peck the 1999 Newbery Honor (see entire list here).
In A Year Down Yonder Mary Alice is now fifteen and her brother Joey is living out west. A repression has hit her parents hard and they can’t afford for Mary Alice to live at home. So they send Mary Alice down to Grandma Dowdel’s to spend the year. Spending a week at Grandma’s during the summer was enough, but can Mary Alice survive a whole year? Without Joey to keep her company? Mary Alice knows it’s going to be a long year when as soon as she steps off the train from Chicago, Grandma marches her straight to the high school to go to class, rather then letting her rest at home.
Considering the fact that Grandma likes to keep to herself, she’s always up to something. When Halloween comes around she’s determined to not let her “privy” be knocked down and pulls off the biggest prank of them all. She teaches her live in border a lesson that the whole town won’t forget when it results in Miss Maxine Patch running down the street start naked. Grandma does have her soft side and cares deeply for those less fortunate then herself and for Mary Alice.
The narration does change in this book and is told from Mary Alice’s point of view who like in A Long Way from Chicago has learned to never question her grandmother. I enjoyed both of these books and will be sure to pick up more books by Richard Peck in the future.
I’d like to put your Darfur button on my blog but I’m afraid I don’t know how. Thanks for taking such a passionate interest in something as awful to contemplate as the killing in Darfur.
on September 13th, 2008 at 11:43 amOh, I forgot my original comment which was my daughter and I really enjoyed Long Way from Chicago and Here Lies the Librarian (think that’s the title). Very evocative of the time period in American history.
on September 13th, 2008 at 11:45 amHave you read The TEacher’s Funeral? I loved, loved, loved that book. We’re talking serious love here. And Here Lies the Librarian is great too.
on September 13th, 2008 at 3:37 pmI really need to read more Newbery award winners (and honors)!
on September 13th, 2008 at 9:26 pmLove Richard Peck, and this is one of my faves of his.
on September 14th, 2008 at 12:07 amokay so clearly gonna add this to the list when i added the first. that’s obvious right?
on September 14th, 2008 at 1:16 pmI wish i can help and by bthe way i really like the story of a year down yonder.
on September 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm