When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

I grabbed this quick little read at a book sale. I thought it seemed intriguing because it had won a National Book Award. It was a quick read but I wouldn't rate it with any awards.

Toby's summer in Antler Texas has just begun. Zachary Beaver, billed 'the fattest boy in the world' has just rolled into town in a tiny trailer. Zachary is abandoned by his legal guardian and handler in small town Antler while he looks for other acts to add to the side show. Toby's life also revolves around sadness. His mother just left under the guise of winning a singing contest in Nashville. Toby soon finds that she has gone searching for adventure without him. Dad is quiet and likes the quiet life. Cal, Toby's best friend loses an older brother to the war in Vietnam. Toby's crush Scarlet gives her heart to another boy. Zachary, Cal and Toby become friends before the sideshow pulls out later in the summer.

I am sure this book was supposed to be about not judging by appearances. I didn't think it delved into that far enough. Also it was just strange the way things went with Scarlet. Yes it was plausible, just sort of pointless for me. The whole mother abandonment was glossed over and made to seem okay because she just needed something different. Toby spent a lot of his time wishing to be Cal. He wanted Cal's brother to be his and I think he wanted to be part of Cal's loving intact family. Basically he just had to suck it up that he was nothing but Cal's friend. The book was fine. I wouldn't mind if my kids wanted to read it. I question it as an award winner though. It didn't feel deep enough, nor did it feel resolved in anyway.

Rating 2.5 I struggle with this rating. I don't want to go higher because I felt like the book bordered on pointless but it was still an okay book and I felt for the main character. I would recommend it, I would just say be prepared for good but not great.

Rating PG Nothing too bad, just his desire for Scarlet was not really meant to be understood by the younger crowd.

Autumn Letters

Autumn Letters by Michael Frederick

Picked up this little nugget at the library because the cover looked new.
Frederick seems to be publishing independently. I could not find anything about him and his website would not come up.

Mark loses his mother to a car wreck. He is then quickly moved to another state where his estranged father lives. Mark lives with his father's grandparents. He makes new friends with the rough boy living across the street (Hurley). Mark begins to fit in when his classmates realize that he has a way with reading, writing and baseball.
Mark finds first love in Hubbard, a lonely girl living on a pig farm and looking for the cure for eye disease. Their love begins as Hubbard is in the county jail for burying her father on his pig farm and continuing to cash his state checks. Her father, like most of the other men in her family died prematurely from alcoholism. Hubbard cashes his checks in order to keep up with her medical research. Mark is in charge of bringing Hubbard her meals, as his grandmother is the meal supplier to those in lock up. Hubbard is soon released to a girl's home. She and Mark continue their growing friendship as Mark volunteers to help care for Hubbard's pig Johnny while she is away.
Hurley is a mean and strange boy. He is surely the leader as Mark is the follower. He has cruel intentions, abusive parents and a foul mouth. Mark likes the free and strong part of Hurley but not the side of him that is crude and abrasive.
Through Hurley and Hubbard, Mark learns about living in the present and being free to enjoy the moment by not living for the future or dwelling on the past.
The book entertained me and I could see that Frederick wanted to put across that 'freedom factor', living in the moment philosophy. Many times I felt like the book was really choppy and jumped around. He would try to allude to an upcoming event, but I would have a hard time following past to present. Well, okay I could follow, it just didn't flow really well.
Rating 3 I enjoyed Mark and Hubbard a great deal. I was surprised by feeling like I knew Hurley and then finding him to be a wholly different character at the end.
Rating PG 13 Teen sex (non descriptive), crude language