Booklist (September 1, 2009 (Vol. 106, No. 1))
Grades 4-6. Bored with life in Fayette, South Carolina, where the only change is a new daily vocabulary word, Popeye is excited to find a motor home stuck in the roadbed mud. He and Elvis, one of its nomadic inhabitants, set off to find adventure, even if it’s a small one. Discovering a boat with a secret message, they follow the creek into the forbidden woods, not once but several times, until they find the boat's maker, Princess Starletta. While Popeye’s grandmother struggles to get his feckless uncle to help extricate the trailer, the once-fearful boy experiments with being devious and enlarges his world. O’Connor again sets her story in a world of rural poverty and barely functional families, matter-of-factly described. Popeye loves the clutter of the motor home and the chaos of Starletta’s backyard—they provide a lively contrast to his own dreary surroundings—and learns that life can be better with imagination and a friend. With interestingly offbeat characters, a clear narrative arc, and intriguing vocabulary smoothly integrated into the story line, this is a satisfying read.
Grades 4-6. Bored with life in Fayette, South Carolina, where the only change is a new daily vocabulary word, Popeye is excited to find a motor home stuck in the roadbed mud. He and Elvis, one of its nomadic inhabitants, set off to find adventure, even if it’s a small one. Discovering a boat with a secret message, they follow the creek into the forbidden woods, not once but several times, until they find the boat's maker, Princess Starletta. While Popeye’s grandmother struggles to get his feckless uncle to help extricate the trailer, the once-fearful boy experiments with being devious and enlarges his world. O’Connor again sets her story in a world of rural poverty and barely functional families, matter-of-factly described. Popeye loves the clutter of the motor home and the chaos of Starletta’s backyard—they provide a lively contrast to his own dreary surroundings—and learns that life can be better with imagination and a friend. With interestingly offbeat characters, a clear narrative arc, and intriguing vocabulary smoothly integrated into the story line, this is a satisfying read.
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