The Journey Back

October 15, 2012
Sentenced to a juvenile detention camp and eager to escape, Digger has a plan that sends him on a journey that is both a survival story and a lesson in trust. Introduced as the culprit in a prank gone wrong in Red Kayak (2004), Digger is angry yet determined to help his mother and siblings, who have long been abused by his father. Though seemingly anxious for their safety, Digger is derailed surprisingly easily once on the outside, as he tries to evade authorities and fend for himself as best he can. He develops a whole new persona as Gerry, the baby sitter for a kid with reading difficulties and a gambling father, and gets a job as a stable hand for a nearby horse-rescue farm. Some of the survival techniques he uses are both unlawful and unlikely, but Digger's strong narrative voice and the basic decency beneath his stupidity help readers overcome these flaws. A surplus of action keeps the plot moving forward and obscures questions of logic that might emerge if readers had an opportunity to stop and think. The trope of the underdog who survives and wins a better future due to kindness in the world and in his heart is fairly standard fare, and this is no exception. It's a satisfying one, though, and it rises above the genre via gritty language and secondary characters with lives of their own. (map) (Fiction. 12-16)

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January 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Michael "Digger" Griswald, from The Red Kayak (Dutton, 2004), takes center stage here. After his 14th birthday, he escapes from the Cliffside Youth Detention Center, where he has been incarcerated for his role in a young boy's death, and heads home to protect his mother and young siblings from his abusive father. After stealing a tractor trailer and driving to the C&O Canal towpath, the angry teen takes a bike, food, and a canoe to continue his journey. However, his progress is hindered when he injures his ankle and gets a bad case of poison ivy. A stray dog becomes his companion and he happens upon third-grader Luke and teenager Nora. They take him to a campground home, where he hides out with Luke and his father. The incorporation of the poverty seen in the campground provides a glimpse into a life in America. Digger gets a job and grows closer to Luke and develops feelings for Nora. He also processes his anger issues and he gains a stronger sense of self and accountability for his actions. While the tied-up loose ends, didactic nature of the plot, and clean language might induce eye-rolling from discerning readers, the book's life lessons have merits. Cummings focuses on "if/then" and TOP (think of the other person) thinking. She incorporates these life skills into the story through memories, contemplation, and a white laminated card of Cliffside rules that Digger carries.-Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ

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December 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Fourteen-year-old Digger schemes about bolting from Cliffside Youth Detention Center so he can get home to protect his mother and siblings from his dad's rage. (He is in there for a caper that went tragically wrongsee Cummings' Red Kayak, 2004.) From his jaw-dropping escape in a garbage truck to the commandeering of a semi and other thefts along his desperate trek, Digger careens through the Maryland countryside. Hiding out in a campground, he meets an interesting community of folks living on the edge who enrichand sometimes crowdthe story with lively subplots. Thanks to a new connection with a girl named Norah, Digger spends time caring for rescued horses and begins envisioning himself in a better light. While the thoughtful riffs on morality can get a bit overdone and a couple of farmhands are needlessly stereotyped, this high-action journey has suspense to spare, and the continual near misses will keep readers cheering for Digger. Technically a sequel, this works just fine on its own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)