Monday, July 15, 2019

A Season of Gifts


My latest read was A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck.  This novel is a companion to A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder.  Do you have to read the others to read this one?  No, but I do think it would help appreciate the story, characters, events, and how the stories are woven together.  The story is 164 pages, so it is a fairly quick read and moves at a fast pace.

While Chicago is narrated by Joey and Down Yonder is narrated by Mary Alice, this story is narrated by Bob Barnhart, the 12 year-old son of the family that has moved into the house next door to Grandma Dowdel.  Bob's dad is the new minister at the Methodist church in town, so the family has moved next door to the last house in town.  It is now 1958, and while many things have changed, Grandma Dowdel has not.  While Chicago took place during one week each summer over a span of 8 years and Down Yonder took place over one year with Grandma, A Season of Gifts spans only 6 months - the first 6 months the Barnhart family has moved into town - to tell the story of how they adjust to life in Grandma's small Illinois town.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who loved A Long Way From Chicago after reading it in class (and many of you did!).  This novel did not disappoint!  There were reappearances by some of your favorite characters - Mrs. Dowdel (of couse), Effie Wilcox, and several others.  There are even appearances by the children and grandchildren of some of your favorite characters from the other novels!  There are also reappearances of some of the things we know and love most about Grandma - her double-barrel shotgun, the cobhouse, and more.  And let's not forget Grandma Dowdel's schemes and lies!  Grandma is right back up to her old tricks to make sure people in the town are given the justice they deserve for their actions.  (She even has a few plans cooked up to prevent people from making bad decisions!)  This story has a little bit of everything - a bully and his gang picking on the "new kid," a ghost story, an initiation, blackmail, lies, a love story, and even Grandma's softer, compassionate side!

I would love to hear what you thought of the story if you end up reading the novel!
Happy reading!

 

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