It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang. Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.Īs they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths. By the end of this tale, replete with allusions to Our Town, Doug realizes he’s pretty happy in Marysville, where holding hands with the green-eyed girl-and a first kiss-rival whatever might be happening on the moon. This is Schmidt’s best novel yet-darker than The Wednesday Wars and written with more restraint, but with the same expert attention to voice, character and big ideas. He meets pretty Lillian Spicer, just the feisty friend Doug needs, and a whole cast of small-town characters opens Doug to what he might be in the world. Powell, the town librarian, teaches Doug to paint and see the world as an artist. Each chapter opens with a print of a John James Audubon painting, and Mr. Readers of the Newbery Honor–winning The Wednesday Wars (2007) will remember Doug, now less edgy and gradually more open to the possibilities of life in a small town. He hates “stupid Marysville,” so far from home and his beloved Yankee Stadium, and he may have moved away, but his cruel father and abusive brothers are still with him. The Vietnam War and Apollo 11 are in the background, and between a war in a distant land and a spacecraft heading to the moon, Doug Swieteck starts a new life in tiny Marysville, N.Y. Doug's journey to self-acceptance isn't a straight one, and several times he proves his theory that 'when things start to go pretty good, something usually happens to turn everything bad,' but readers will root for him even when he stops rooting for himself.It’s 1968.

When Doug says, about the first Audubon painting he sees, 'This bird was falling and there wasn't a single thing in the world that cared at all,' it's clear he's talking about himself as much as he is the Arctic tern. Doug's artistic efforts parallel his struggles to fit into the town and rise above the preconceptions people have about his family. Following her into the library, he finds the works of Audubon on display and befriends a librarian, who coaxes him to try drawing. Lil challenges him to prove he is not the 'skinny thug' everyone assumes he is.

Schmidt's Newbery Honor-winning Wednesday Wars) and his family move to a small town in upstate New York after his bad-tempered father loses his job, Doug immediately dubs the town 'stupid.' After he meets local girl Lil, everything changes. When eighth grader Doug Swietek (who was a secondary character in author Gary D. It's 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War, with the first lunar landing on the horizon.

Okay for now book