Wednesday, May 26, 2010

"As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth" by Lynne Rae Perkins


Wow, you think you have problems? Ry is on his way to camp when he belatedly opens the "Urgent!' letter he had received from the camp. Surprise! The camp is closed. When the train abruptly stops and he hears the conductor telling a passenger that there will be a 40 minute delay, Ry tries to call his grandfather but there is no cell phone reception. Thinking that he'll get better reception outside of the train, Ry starts to walk further and further away from the tracks-- except the train has started to move, leaving Ry deserted. Ry walks the tracks for miles, his nose starts to bleed, staining an already tattered tee shirt and he finally hitches a ride on a boxcar. Sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the boxcar, one of his loosely tied boots falls into the water. When the train approaches the trainyard in town, Ry jumps off and hurries to hide behind a pile of rubble to avoid security. Unfortunately, he doesn't see the protuding piece of steel that smacks into his head right above his eye, making it immediately blacken and swell.
Now all this happens in the first 25 pages and it just goes on from there. You see, not only is Ry having a bad time, so are his parents and Grandpa. Shattered masts, missing dogs, sink holes, and an airplane with duct tape holding it together all converge to make a humorous and exciting story.

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