Now, why would someone who is caught in the thralls of 2013 Rebecca Caudill Nominees take a break? When an award-winning author publishes a new book. And the book revisits a little known character from a previous work. And that little known character made an impact on that novel’s main character. And someone thought that we needed four copies of this book for our library. And all four books are already checked out. And my boss was nice enough to let me read her copy while it was still checked out to her. And it is due back tomorrow! And I just cannot imagine that this book won’t be somewhere on the Newbery, King, Caudill lists next year. How could I wait a year?
I am so glad I didn’t wait.
My favorite element of this book is the heroine, Deza Malone. She is so very real, believable, likeable. She is optimistic as only a child can be during difficult times like the Great Depression. Part of this is that her parents have protected her from much of the truth. They give her appropriate information as she is old enough to cope with it or curious enough to ask about it. And part of this is that she has never known “good times” or “time of plenty” and so she doesn’t have anything to compare present circumstances with. Her family is together and that is enough. Just proves that having a loving family together is strength to survive unbearable situations.
Deza, her father, mother and brother live in Gary, Indiana. Her mother works as a housemaid in a rich banker’s home. Her father works for the Company as a furnace cleaner or janitor, the only two positions at the Company that a black man can have, and only when there is work available. Deza’s older brother, Jimmie, has the voice of an angel, but the mentality to wind up a thug and in jail. Deza on the other hand is a teacher’s dream. Academically, she excels in everything. She enjoys school and books. She adores words, phrases and writing. And she is known to overelaborate and even embellish on occasion.
There might not be much money. There might be bugs in their meager rations of oatmeal. The children’s teeth might be rotting in their mouths. But things are looking bright in Deza’s world. Her favorite teacher has offered to tutor her in the fall and to do her best to guarantee that Deza will get every opportunity in this world of inequality to rise above her circumstances. Her favorite teacher also offers her shoes that fit and clothes that shine and the chance to have her teeth fixed. And then her dreams tumble down in threes, and threes, and threes.
There is no work for her father. Her mother’s employer will be moving. So the Malone’s will have to move as well. They need to move someplace where they can find support and encouragement while they get back on their feet. But this means Deza will have to leave all of the newly offered opportunities behind. The Malone’s choose Flint, Michigan, Mr. Malone’s hometown. They can at least move in with Grandma Malone while they search for jobs to support the family.
Except that Mr. Malone decides to go first, leaving his family behind. When they receive no word from him and their home is being taken from them, the remaining Malones must take matters into their own hands. With very little money and only the possessions that they can carry, Mother, Jimmie and Deza set out to find Mr. Malone and they have very little information to go by.
This novel takes you on the rails in boxcars, to hobo communities along the way, to Chicago and speakeasies as well as into the warm lives of many memorable characters. The most memorable of all being Deza Malone. I love how her mind works. And she has two brains – the main one and the one that takes over when she is furious. Fans of Christopher Paul Curtis! Remember The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, Bud, Not Buddy (where you first met Deza), and Elijah of Buxton? Here is another winner to fall in love with.
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