The story: When Footer Davis's mother shoots the head right off a venomous snake, it's the start of a downhill slide that sends Mom back to the mental hospital and leaves Footer and best boy-buddy Peavine to discover the truth about the the murder of Old Man Abrams, the fire that destroyed his property, and the disappearance of his grandchildren. When Footer starts hallucinating about the night of the murder, she has to wonder--is she going crazy too?
June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG-13; Sexual content G: Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G: adult themes (child abuse, murder, mental illness; all on a scale suitable for older ES readers) PG; overall rating PG.
Liz's comments: I liked this one a lot. The one-and-only drawback is that Footer and Peavine are in 5th grade. Bummer, especially since the story could have been told exactly the same even if the author had placed the kids in 7th grade, which would have enticed a group of MS readers to give it a go. However, Footer is a wry narrator with an authentic southern voice (and the Mississippi setting seems spot-on, all the way down to the snakes in the ponds, and the elephant gun used to fight them off). Readers will find themselves rooting for Footer and mentally assuring her that she's NOT really crazy at all.
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