WILD BLUES by Beth Kephart is a middle grade
novel filled with action and adventure in the Adirondack Mountains of New York
State. I like National Book Award
finalist Kephart’s writing (Undercover) and found myself anxious to
return to this suspenseful book. I wanted to know what happened to thirteen year-old
Lizzie and her friend Matias from El Salvador.
The ending, though, felt abrupt and I needed more resolution.
In WILD BLUES Kephart has cleverly
combined disparate elements including a prison break, a parent with cancer, art
and painting, dwarfism, immigration, kidnapping, and an abundance of
nature. However, the construction of the
novel – Lizzie was reading an impact statement after the events – was a bit
confusing and law enforcement, albeit portrayed through her eyes, were not
shown as very competent. I did like the digressions about antiques which her
Uncle Davy collected and the real-life excerpts from an actual wilderness
survival guide: The Book of Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart, the
author’s great-grandfather. It seems that Lizzie and Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce
would be great friends; both are well-intentioned and intrigued by science, but
not always making the best choices. WILD BLUES received a
starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.
Other middle grade books to
look for: No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen (to be published in
September) and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl! By Stacy McAnulty,
plus 18 titles with lots of “buzz,” including new works from Dave Eggers, Christopher Paul
Curtis, Wendy Mass, and Rebecca Stead.
Enjoy!!
