Unhooking the Moon
-
- $4.99
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father's death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York.
Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both.
On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting streets of New York, Bob and the Rat make friends with a hilarious con man and a famous rap star, and escape numerous dangers. But is their Uncle a rich business man, or is the word on the street, that he something more sinister, true? And will they ever find him?
Hughes has created a funny, warm, unique world that lives and breathes. Like I Capture the Castle, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Curious Incident, Hughes' story and characters will resonate for many and for years to come.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Published in England in 2010 to acclaim and awards, Hughes's quirky, poignant debut is narrated by nearly-13-year-old Bob, who lives in thrall to his 10-year-old sister, known as the Rat. Prone to seizures and visions, the Rat is obsessed with pedophiles and has a knack for wise, wry adages. The story opens in the siblings' Winnipeg home, where the Rat's offhand claim that their loving, but somewhat hapless widowed father will die quickly proves true; she then persuades Bob to travel to New York City to find their long-lost uncle, a purported drug dealer. A madcap road trip via bicycles and freight trains ensues, followed by relentless New York City adventures that include sleeping in Central Park, hustling tourists, and knocking on seedy building doors. From First Nation Natives in Winnipeg to gangsters and a rap star in Manhattan, Bob and the Rat interact with a predictably wild array of characters; readers will appreciate Bob's seesawing between his determination to protect his "drama queen" of a sister and his frustration at her recklessness. Occasional dark undertones foreshadow the unexpectedly sad, yet realistic conclusion that skillfully avoids turning maudlin. Ages 9 12.
