Sonny's House of Spies

Sonny's confusion over his parents' turbulent relationship and his father's abandonment is only overshadowed by his certainly that there is more to the story of the Bradshaw family. Sonny's search for the truth in 1950s' Alabama is told with a smooth and emotive narration by Nick Landrum. Landrum speaks differently for each character, using a distinctive subtlety that does not compromise his even undertones. Despite the believable but slight rural twang and easy-to-listen to pace that Landrum provides throughout the book, the suspense may not be strong enough to keep all but the most focused listeners along for the ride. J.M.S. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 5, 2004
Racially divisive, homophobic, post–WWII Alabama serves as the setting for Lyon's (Borrowed Children
) exceptionally well-crafted coming-of-age story. Sonny Bradshaw is six when his father walks out, leaving him, baby brother Deaton and the acerbic eldest child, Loretta, in the care of their emotionally fragile mother. Over time, portly "Uncle" Marty, owner of a donut shop where he serves up Bible verses with the éclairs and fritters, "reaches out" to the family, sharing meals and offering Sonny a job the summer he's 13. "Viruses reach out to you too," notes Loretta, who gets the best lines in a book full of spot-on dialogue. At the shop, Sonny uncovers a letter to Marty from his absent father that sets in motion a dramatic series of events culminating in a confrontation with Marty about homosexuality and sin, followed by a fatal fire. Lyons deftly contextualizes Sonny's horror at the discovery his father is a "queer," a stigma so threatening some would rather die than live with it. A subplot about the family's African-American maid highlights the equally insidious racism of the period but pushes the plot almost to the point of boiling over. Fortunately, Lyon's sharply drawn characters steer the story away from melodrama, and she balances the heavy elements with humor: a birds-and-bees conversation between Sonny and Deaton comparing human anatomy to hot dogs and buns is hilarious. The ending, which leaves Sonny in a romance with an undeveloped minor character, is not as satisfying, but the rest of the story more than makes up for it. Ages 11-14.

July 1, 2005
Gr 5-8 -In this novel by George Ella Lyon (Atheneum, 2004) set in Alabama in the 1950s, Sonny Bradshaw's life changes the night his mother greets his father at the door and throws his dinner plate in his face. Sonny's father moves out of the house, and Sonny is left to contend with an avalanche of well-meaning uncles and aunts, Loretta, his sarcastic sister, and Deaton, his little brother. One day while working in Uncle Marty's Circle of Life donut shop, Sonny finds a letter from his father and goes to Mobile to look for him. Having failed to locate his father, he returns home and confronts Marty, who confesses that both he and Sonny's dad are homosexual. Soon afterward, Marty dies in a suspected suicide, and Sonny realizes that his father was a weak and selfish man. This is a story about family loyalties and secrets as well as racial issues. Although the setting is rural Alabama, the situations could be transposed to any southern state at that time. Narrator Nick Landrum does a superb job of presenting the southern dialect of the main characters. His ability to assume the persona of a 12-year-old white boy as well as a 45-year-old black woman help to transport listeners to this time in American history. A good choice for middle school library collections and social studies curriculums. -"Joyce Rice, Crestwood Middle School, Royal Palm Beach, FLB "

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.