The Mighty Miss Malone
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
In the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award–winning Bud, Not Buddy, Bud met a girl named Deza Malone in a Hooverville. This is her story.
“We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful" is the motto of Deza Malone's family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression has hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie's beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone.
“Witty and moving.” —The Wall Street Journal
“The fluidity of the writing, the strong sense of place and time combined with well-drawn characters will captivate and delight. . . . a fitting literary companion to Bud Caldwell.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
“Curtis threads important bits of African-American history throughout the narrative. . . . Some readers will feel they are due a bit of happiness; others will be struck by how little has changed in 75 years for the nation’s have-nots.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Even ardent fans of Curtis's Newbery winner, Bud, Not Buddy, may not remember Deza Malone, who shares dishwashing duties with Bud Caldwell during his brief stay at a Hooverville in Flint, Mich. Responding to readers' pleas that he write a book with a female main character, Curtis traces the path that led Deza's family to homelessness. It's 1936 in Gary, Ind., and the Great Depression has put 12-year-old Deza's father out of work. After a near-death experience trying to catch fish for dinner, Roscoe Malone leaves for Flint, hoping he'll find work. But Deza's mother loses her job shortly after, putting all the Malones out on the street. As in his previous books, Curtis threads important bits of African-American history throughout the narrative, using the Joe Louis Max Schmeling fight to expose the racism prevalent even among people like the librarian who tells Deza that Louis is "such a credit to your race." Though the resolution of the family's crisis is perhaps far-fetched, some readers will feel they are due a bit of happiness; others will be struck by how little has changed in 75 years for the nation's have-nots. Ages 10 14.
