The Summer of Hammers & Angels

Gr 4—6—Tucker's Ferry, WV, circa the mid- to late-20th century, has the expected cast of characters: Old Red, the curmudgeonly old man who sicces his dog on anyone who tries to enter his beautifully landscaped yard; Miss Martha, the best fried chicken maker in town and all-round do-gooder,; Tommy Parker, the boy next door who is a pest but turns out to be a pretty nice guy; and Delia, the only child of a single mother who works as a waitress and barely manages to eke out a living. Delia has her share of problems. Not only has a state inspector informed her mother that their house will soon be condemned, and she may have to be put in foster care, but then during a thunderstorm, the house is struck by lightning, the roof is ruined, and her mother ends up in a coma. Delia has to move in with the Parkers, the parents of Tommy, her nemesis. She takes it upon herself to fix the house, but the problems are bigger than she can handle. While the town pulling together to help her and her mother is an expected, and perhaps somewhat cliché ending, Delia trying to deal with problems that are bigger than any child should have to face is well done.—Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD