A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
I’m starting to question just how effective my elementary school was at getting us to read. At this point in quarantine, I thought I had read through all the books in the house, but yet again, I’ve found a book from my elementary school’s book exchange. I don’t recall if I read this book and simply forgot, or if I just never read it in the first place. Either way, I’m just surprised that I seemed to have acquired a shelf-full of books from the school, that I never bothered to remember or read. In this case, I read A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck. I’m actually quite glad I found this book because it was just what I needed during this time.
The book is a piece of historical fiction that tells the story of Joey and his sister Mary Alice, city children from Chicago who visit their Grandma Dowdel in her sleepy, rural town during eight summers between 1929 to 1942, the years of the Great Depression. Soon enough, they find that it's far from sleepy, and Grandma Dowdel is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse to helping Grandma trespass, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry all in one day, this book describes all the crazy and wild things that Joey and Mary Alice do at Grandma’s.
Before I review the novel, I just wanted to clear up the vague summary. This book is split up into eight different stories and so there isn’t necessarily a continuous plot. I looked it up and it’s apparently a “novel-in-stories” style, or short story cycle. Even then, all the stories are still connected, though there isn’t necessarily an overarching problem, enemy, etc.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to say that this book was a really fun read. Based on the summary alone, you can tell that a lot of wacky and funny stuff happens, but even then, this book had such a nice atmosphere around it. It’s one of those books that you don't necessarily need to get super deep into the plot, characters, or backstory to enjoy. In addition, I thought that although the writing was somewhat simple (it's recommended for middle/high schoolers), the way Peck made Joey such an innocent narrator that is just trying to keep up with his crazy grandma was just really fun and refreshing. You might be able to tell, but I really don’t know how to describe how I feel about this book. It’s got a really unique feeling to it once you’ve read it and it’s hard to put into words. Even so, if you are looking for a book right now, I’d really recommend this book as it's just a light, fun, and unique read.
I don’t know how this got started, but we’ve already done it for a whole year. Out of 13 bologna slices, I’ll rate this last book of the year, A Long Way from Chicago, 11.5/13 bologna slices. Thanks for reading and for a great year of blogs!
The book is a piece of historical fiction that tells the story of Joey and his sister Mary Alice, city children from Chicago who visit their Grandma Dowdel in her sleepy, rural town during eight summers between 1929 to 1942, the years of the Great Depression. Soon enough, they find that it's far from sleepy, and Grandma Dowdel is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse to helping Grandma trespass, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry all in one day, this book describes all the crazy and wild things that Joey and Mary Alice do at Grandma’s.Before I review the novel, I just wanted to clear up the vague summary. This book is split up into eight different stories and so there isn’t necessarily a continuous plot. I looked it up and it’s apparently a “novel-in-stories” style, or short story cycle. Even then, all the stories are still connected, though there isn’t necessarily an overarching problem, enemy, etc.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to say that this book was a really fun read. Based on the summary alone, you can tell that a lot of wacky and funny stuff happens, but even then, this book had such a nice atmosphere around it. It’s one of those books that you don't necessarily need to get super deep into the plot, characters, or backstory to enjoy. In addition, I thought that although the writing was somewhat simple (it's recommended for middle/high schoolers), the way Peck made Joey such an innocent narrator that is just trying to keep up with his crazy grandma was just really fun and refreshing. You might be able to tell, but I really don’t know how to describe how I feel about this book. It’s got a really unique feeling to it once you’ve read it and it’s hard to put into words. Even so, if you are looking for a book right now, I’d really recommend this book as it's just a light, fun, and unique read.
I don’t know how this got started, but we’ve already done it for a whole year. Out of 13 bologna slices, I’ll rate this last book of the year, A Long Way from Chicago, 11.5/13 bologna slices. Thanks for reading and for a great year of blogs!
Nice review of the book! It seemed intriguing and it sounds like a nice book to read for fun. You really summarized all the major points of the story for me and made it really easy for me to make a decision on whether I want to read this book or not. Also, nice job mentioning the structure of the book. It really adds to the post.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like an interesting and light novel to read.It seems refreshing to have a book that doesn't try to do anything too fancy but just wants its reader to have a good time. I don't really like split stories, but given that this book isn't trying to pull you into a super deep story, that doesn't seem to be a problem. Good review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Just based off the cover of this book, I probably wouldn't have even bothered picking it up since I'd assume it's only meant for younger audiences. However, your review made it seem really unique, so if I ever happen to come across it, I might read through it.
ReplyDelete