Warning! For children only! Bobbi Groover's story of
a dreaded family vacation is targeted at kids between the ages of eight
and eleven, but it can be a big help for a parent wanting to curl up
with their own latest book purchase. With you at one end of the couch
and your child at the other, you can share an hour of quiet time, each
with your own book in hands. An oblique examination of domestic abuse
as discovered in the context of another emotionally healthy family,
Fun in the Yellow Pages delivers positive messages for a
young reader. The need for sympathy, tolerance and understanding when
dealing with others is explored through the precocious eyes of twelve-year-old
Pierson.
A bright, likable boy, Pierson is horrified that his parents have
decided to take a summer-long vacation at his uncle's remote cabin in
the Pennsylvania mountains. Although his parents try to convince him
of the potential fun of a few months of wilderness living, Pierson
remains dubious. When they agree to take along Pierson's brooding bully
of a cousin, Will, the trip sinks even lower on Pierson's scale of dread.
A sullen teenager, Will has gotten into troubles and scrapes ever increasingly
in the few years since his father left him and his mother. Will's mother
Maggie is at the end of her rope with her delinquent child, and Pierson's
father prescribes their family vacation as just the medicine Will needs,
and the rest Maggie deserves.
Once the family arrives at the cabin, the summer starts off on a sour
note. Pierson's parents give Will responsibility for Pierson while Will
gruffly commands Pierson to stay out of his hair. Will pushes the envelope
of his aunt and uncle's tolerance, slipping out at night without their
permission. But Will's tough-guy stance slips when Pierson hears him
whimpering in his sleep, troubled by mysterious nightmares.
Pierson and Will are invited to help a neighboring farmer with work
around his spread, and are introduced to the farmer's horses. Pierson
becomes close to the aging horse Symphony, while Will is drawn to the
abused and skittish Rocky. Will swears Pierson to secrecy when he begins
making attempts to ride Rocky, another thing he is doing without permission.
When Rocky's owner, the farmer Russell Kuntz, sees Will riding Rocky,
and Will refuses to own up to it, Pierson's father forbids Will from
riding Rocky. Tensions escalate until Pierson's father finds the right
button to push, and the secret behind Will's nightmares comes flooding
out. As the summer nears its end, one final legend-making event will
decide what Will ultimately feels about himself.
A contained, happily-ending story, Fun in the Yellow Pages
explores troubling issues without graphic detail. This story is appropriate
for all sorts of children -- if they like horses, or are an only child,
or know an older or bullying child, live in the city, suburbs, or in a rural area,
Fun in the Yellow Pages has something familiar and engaging
for them.