A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck is the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago. Both book werew honored by the Newbery Award in some way, but I must admit that this is my favorite. The sequel picks up when Mary Alice is fifteen. Her family has fallen on hard times during a recession (1937 to be exact) and with Joey gone out west, her parents send her to live with Grandma Dowdel for the year. Moving cities and schools at such an important time in a young woman's life has Mary Alice scared and apprehensive.
Of course, a year with Grandma will be adventerous to say the least! Up to her same old antics, Grandma unwittingly helps Mary Alice adjust to her new life and school. Grandma is as sneaky as ever, quietly manipulating people into doing exaclty as she wants!
I liked the fact that this sequel focused on Mary Alice, as the first book focused more on Joey's point of view. Richard Peck is a wonderful author, and he tied up the loose ends from the first book in a very elegant way. We find at the end of the book exactly where Mary Alice ends up (and with whom!) and just how close her and her grandmother had really become. As I was reading this book, one of my cheerleaders was watching her grandmother fight a losing battle with brain cancer. It touched me in a very poignant way, because I know that my cheerleader and her grandmother were very close. I also know that she would loved to have her grandmother there with her at the big moments in her life, but it was just not meant to be. It also made me think of my own grandmother, whose vitality rivals that of Grandmother Dowdel, and how much I would miss her if she were not with us anymore.
Long live the grandmothers of the world!!
Sources:
Peck, Richard. (2002). A Year Down Yonder. New York: Puffin.
www.barnesandnoble.com Image retrieved on 2-18-08
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