Richard Peck almost always makes my heart happy. While this is a sequel to A Long Way From Chicago, it can be read as a stand alone. One of the things that really gets me about this series is that it is literally right in my backyard. I just spent 8 years in Mattoon, live close to Piatt county, and know of the landmarks mentioned. I love that he never actually names a town, just gives an idea of where it is located.

The Great War has ended and the US has run into a great recession. Things in Chicago are hard. Mary Alice is sent to live with her Grandma Dowdel in central Illinois. The family has lost their apartment, and it will be best for her to be someplace stead. Mary Alice does not relish a year away from the big city. While she has been spending summers with Grandma, it’s different to live there for an entire year. But as the days pass, and Mary Alice experiences small town life, she sees her Grandma in new light. How she cares for others while she gives a gruff exterior, or makes the snooty DAR ladies realized, they shouldn’t be so snooty. This year will have a large impact on Mary Alice’s life, and I was more than happy to be a part of it. It reminds me of home, and of my grandmother and all the times I was shipped away, while things were getting settled. This book deserves every award it has ever won, and many many more.

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