Unhooking the Moon

Gr 5–8—Determined not to be placed in foster care after their widowed father dies suddenly, 12-year-old Bob DeBillier and 10-year-old Marie Claire (aka "the Rat," her Indian name) hop a freight train in Winnipeg and head to New York in hopes of finding their long-lost Uncle Jerome, reputed to be a drug dealer. The colorful characters and exciting, often dangerous adventures along the way comprise the plot, but it is Rat's persona that drives the story. Clairvoyant, precocious, rambunctious, and the victim of mysterious seizures, she convinces Bob, who narrates from a years-later vantage point, that biking from Brooklyn to the Bronx, sleeping behind bushes in Central Park, scamming in Times Square with an aging con man, and intruding into the life of a famous rap star are all necessary to find Uncle Jerome. But when Rat disappears in midtown, things turn dark, and Bob must find the courage and help he needs to find her, plunging into a situation with violent consequences. While a good deal of the action and over-the-top characterizaion strain credibility, readers will be engrossed in the story right up to the unsettling conclusion. A strong dose of swearing, some foul language, and Rat's habit of bleeping out the ubiquitous f-word pepper the dialogue, and vivid descriptions of Winnipeg and New York City provide a strong, authentic sense of place. This title is fast-paced and entertaining.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY