A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories (1998) Richard Peck (Author)
Award Winner
Seven stories tell of the seven summers that Joey and his sister Mary Alice spend with their "larger than life" grandmother who doesn't take nonsense from anybody. The first summer they're with her, they watch her blast a shotgun into a gauze curtain while holding a wake for Shotgun Cheatham. Another summer Joey and Mary Alice watch her switch tags at the Pie Contest at the County Fair so that her pie will win, a feat she freely admits to. The last summer they visit, they help Grandma bring the oldest living citizen in their county to the town's special Centennial Celebration, just so she can get back at the banker's wife for asking her to clean out the toilets in this warm and funny story. In the final story, the year now being 1942, Joey again finds himself on a train, but this time it only passes through his grandmother's town as it carries him off to fight for his country. (148 pages)
MAIN CHARACTERS :
Joe Dowdel, Teenager (of Mary Alice), Mary Alice Dowdel, Teenager (of Joe), Grandma Dowdel, Grandmother (of Joe and Mary Alice)
GENRE :
Historical fiction
SUB GENRE :
Adventure, Saga, Young Adult
SETTING(S) :
Illinois, East, Great Lakes States, Midwest, North America, United States
SUBJECT :
Adventurers, Adventure, United States history, Brothers and sisters, Urban life, Rural life, Economic depressions, Family, Grandparents
TIME PERIOD :
20th century AD, 1930s (Decade) AD, 1920s (Decade) AD, 1940s (Decade) AD, 1990s (Decade) AD
Gale Document Number: GALE|M1300093331
Gale Database: What Do I Read Next?, 2010
SOURCE CITATION : "A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories." 2010. Books & Authors Gale. Gale Internal User. 2 Sep 2010 <http://books.wiseto.com/bna/start.do?p=BNA&u=gale>
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