The Reappearance of Sam Webber

March 29, 1999
A white 11-year-old becomes fast friends with a black school janitor and learns about racism, loss, grief, forgiveness and the landscape of Baltimore in this heartfelt but simplistic debut novel, the first work of fiction from Bancroft Press. Narrator Sam Webber was shy and fearful even before his depressed father disappeared; now Sam lives near the poverty line with his mother, who works in a flower shop. At a low point in his life, Sam is taken under the wing of the kindly, wise school janitor. African-American WWII veteran Greely Clemons offers Sam fatherly advice and reels off stories about his own experiences. Sam's friendship with Greely sensitizes the boy to racial bigotry spouted by his mother's drawling boss, Ditch Gordon, and the class bully, fat, ugly Newt Novacek. Sam finds another father-surrogate in his mother's new boyfriend, but his leap toward emotional maturity comes when Greely, in the hospital recovering from a heart attack, confesses that he too walked out on his wife and kids back in Atlanta. Shaken, Sam finally realizes that the father he idolized may never return. Fuqua, who has written children's nonfiction (B&O: America's Railroad), seems to have envisioned this earnest tale as part tract on teenage depression and part coming-of-age novel. He has a sensitive understanding of the shaky emotional terrain of preadolescence, and he displays a good ear for dialogue and an intimate feel for Baltimore's rowhouses, creaky buses and broad sidewalks. Though teenagers may find Sam's story inspiring, adult readers may find it predictable and didactic. Agent, Robbie Hare.

April 30, 2001
. An 11-year-old Baltimore boy's friendship with an African-American school janitor teaches him about racism, loss, grief and forgiveness. According to PW
, the author "has a sensitive understanding of the shaky emotional terrain of preadolescence." Ages 10-up.

February 15, 1999
This debut novel follows the life of a contemporary 11-year-old white boy named Sam Webber whose father, suffering from depression, abandons Sam and his mother. They are forced to move into a small apartment in the rundown Baltimore neighborhood of Charles Village. At school, Sam is bullied because of his small size and isolated because of his good grades. Eventually, he befriends a black janitor named Greely, who teaches Sam to face his fears. After Sam and his mother are mugged and neighbors come to their aid, Sam learns that there are "too many good people in the world to let the bad ones set you off." Fuqua addresses prejudice and overcoming urban fears from a child's perspective. The characters present a realistic picture of the trials in a single-parent family and display the essential values of an extended family of neighbors. Highly recommended not only for adults and educators but for teenagers living in urban areas.--David A. Berona, Univ. of New England, Biddleford, ME

July 1, 1999
YA-In a style somewhat reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird or Olive Ann Burns's Cold Sassy Tree, a slightly older Sam relates the events of a watershed year in his life. In the summer after his 11th birthday, Sam's father disappeared. Although the boy's mother soon realizes that her husband has abandoned them, Samuel clings to the belief that his father was kidnapped and involuntarily remains apart from them. Facing reduced circumstances, the Webbers move to an impoverished area in Baltimore. A rough neighborhood, a dwelling with an inner waterfall during rainstorms, and a school bully are only some of the new experiences in store for the boy. Sam is a realistic, vivid character. He anxiously waits out his mother's grief-provoked depression and begins facing his new life. He is prone to hyperventilating when faced with stress or anxiety, a trait that usually results in a dead faint or a bout of vomiting. He has trouble relating to other kids and he is often frightened, confused, and lonely. He learns, however, that family doesn't have to be composed of blood relatives, that love comes in various colors and sizes, and that what seems to be the worst of circumstances can actually turn out to be a blessing. With so many young adults facing family breakups personally or through their friends, this delightful and captivating story will be a welcome glimmer of hope.-Carol De-Angelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 1999
Eleven-year-old Sam Webber's father has disappeared. Left with little money and no clue as to where his father went, Sam and his mother are forced to move into a small, leaking apartment in a low-income Baltimore neighborhood. Armed with only a nervous stomach, Sam struggles to adjust to his new life. The cold uninviting school, the bully out for revenge, and his mother's new boyfriend all make Sam anxious and worried. The bright spot in Sam's life is Greely, the school janitor. Sharing football in the park and lunches in the school cafeteria, their relationship fills a void in Sam's life. As their friendship develops, it also becomes obvious that Greely needs Sam as much as Sam needs Greely. It is a secret of Greely's that, once revealed, helps Sam come to terms with his father's leaving. This is a slow-paced story, filled with expertly detailed descriptions of Baltimore and well-drawn characters. ((Reviewed March 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)