Me and Rupert Goody
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- 105,00 kr
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- 105,00 kr
Utgivarens beskrivning
Learning to share love
Things at Jennalee's house are just plain crazy, which is why she loves her predictable days helping Uncle Beau (who isn't really her uncle) at his general store. But then Rupert Goody shows up, claiming to be Uncle Beau's son. Jennalee can't believe it, because Rupert is black and Uncle Beau is white. But Uncle Beau tells her it is true and incorporates Rupert into his life, ruining Jennalee's routine.
Although Rupert is slow, he is kind-hearted and tries hard to please. When more unforeseen events -- this time frightening ones -- further interrupt life at the store, Jennalee comes to see that Rupert Goody, odd though he may be, is certainly not the worst unexpected thing that could come along, and that he belongs with Uncle Beau as much as she does. With a vividly depicted setting, emotional truth, and a distinctly Southern voice, Barbara O'Connor shows that there is love enough to go around.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A reluctant heroine narrates this triumphant tale set in a contemporary North Carolina town where time seems to have stopped. Jennalee Helton lives in a chaotic household filled with so many siblings that she has to fight for a bed to sleep in ("My brothers are all the time saying the reason our family is named Helton is cause there's always a ton of hell going on"). Her only refuge is Uncle Beau's General Store, where her days begin with putting out the doughnuts and end with "buttoning up" (locking the doors) at night, and where Uncle Beau listens to her troubles and rewards her with PayDay candy bars. But when Rupert Goody comes to town claiming he's Uncle Beau's son, her world turns upside down. O'Connor (Beethoven in Paradise) orchestrates the dynamics of the trio with sensitivity and subtlety. Her small-town setting contributes to an atmosphere of a community frozen in time, with lazy afternoons spent trout fishing or sifting the riverbank for rubies, and everyone knows their neighbors on a first-name basis. But, through Jennalee's narration, readers also discover that the townsfolk raise a few eyebrows when African-American Rupert purports to be the son of a self-proclaimed "one hundred percent pure North Carolina paleface." Yet it's an insidious racist remark from one of those townspeople that causes Jennalee to rise to Rupert's defense and to realize how much he means to her. How this stubborn but winning protagonist travels from complete resentment to acceptance of her rival for Uncle Beau's affections is a journey readers won't want to miss. Ages 10-up.
