Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery
Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
“Like its heroine, this contemporary mystery is compelling, offbeat, and fearless.” —The Horn Book
“A sensitive, suspenseful mystery that deftly navigates the uncertainty of mental illness.” —Kirkus Reviews
Footer Davis is on the case when two kids go missing after a fire in this humorously honest novel that is full of Southern style.
Here are some things that are true about Footer Davis:
1. She has a BB gun named Louise.
2. Walruses freak her out.
3. Her mom has bipolar disorder.
But she wants you to know that it’s not that big a deal. She’s just Mom, and usually she’s fine except sometimes when she doesn’t take her pills. But right now what’s most important to Footer is what happened to those kids at the Abrams farm. See, there was a fire there a few nights ago, and those kids haven’t been seen since. Pretty sure they got burned up. What Footer and Peavine—that’s her best friend—want to know is who started the fire?
This middle grade mystery is funny, honest, populated with interesting characters, and Southern to the core. Kirkus Reviews called it “a sensitive, suspenseful mystery that deftly navigates the uncertainty of mental illness.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nine days after a neighbor is shot on his farm and the man's two grandchildren disappear, 11-year-old Fontana "Footer" Davis, her best friend Peavine, and his younger sister set out to find out what happened. Their investigation takes them to the farm, which burned down that same night, and their interviews with townsfolk appear throughout, along with Footer's amusing school assignments (Reinhardt provides doodles on Footer's behalf). Complicating the investigation are Footer's visions of the fire. Is it possible that she was there that night and has repressed the memory? Or is Footer following in the footsteps of her mother, who just been taken to a psychiatric ward? Vaught (Insanity) deftly portrays the pain of having a mentally ill parent, capturing Footer's simultaneous love for and resentment of her mother, as well as her fears for her own sanity. The unusual and entertaining residents of Footer's small Mississippi town bring moments of humor to a well-plotted mystery that effectively explores some serious themes. Ages 10 14.
