A Rambler Steals Home

December 5, 2016
Higgins’s tender debut introduces Derby, who lives on the road with her father, Garland, and younger brother, Triple, operating a concession stand hitched to their Rambler trailer. Each summer finds the three returning to the same small Virginia town, where they sell food outside the minor league baseball stadium. Garland believes that “being a rambler of the road meant three things: food, family, and fun,” but their itinerant lifestyle means loneliness for Derby, rooted in the absence of her mother, who disappeared years ago. This year, the 11-year-old grapples with changes in her relationships with her best friend Marcus and nemesis Betsy, while uncovering secrets from the past. Derby’s deep bond with Garland and Triple forms the heart of Higgins’s story, as does Derby’s devotion to June, a recently widowed woman who works at the stadium. Through there are a few heavy-handed metaphors in Higgins’s narrative (with its peeling paint, June’s front door was one “whose welcome had withered”), readers will easily connect with the story’s reflections on belonging, hope, family, and the meaning of home. Ages 10–12. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content.

November 15, 2016
A rambling girl learns the meaning of home. Home-schooled Derby Christmas Clark, 11, lives and travels year-round with her jovial single dad and 7-year-old brother in their Rambler RV. Every summer the white family returns to the same rural Virginia town, where, outside the run-down baseball stadium, the family sells hamburgers and fries to fans of the local minor league team. Having made this stop for years, the Clarks know the town and its citizens well. Derby is especially close to African-American Marcus, seemingly her age, and grandmotherly June, the box-office manager, also African-American. This particular summer brings unhappy news. Derby resolves to fix problems and effect change with the aid of family and friends; in the process, she uncovers some long-untold secrets. The plot unfolds over the course of two weeks in an unspecified year in June, and Derby recounts events and her thoughts in first person. Her simile-laden voice is genial and humorous, but her aphorisms and epiphanies about herself and others often seem too grown-up and self-aware. While Derby's well-realized, other characters are drawn more superficially; some seem like stock types. Interpersonal relationships and the novel's nostalgic sensibility evoke a cozy feel. The unoriginal plot--kid discovers family and home are wherever she is and galvanizes a whole town into helping a beloved neighbor--is satisfying, as is the pat happy ending. Fans of quiet, nostalgic stories about team spirit should enjoy this debut effort. (Fiction. 10-12)

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December 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 Derby Clark is used to road life, as she, her father, and younger brother, Triple, travel in their RV through settings and seasons. But 11-year-old Derby most loves spending summers in Ridge Creek, Virginia, selling concessions near the baseball stadium and watching Rockskippers' games. While she must contend with snooty girls Betsy and Lollie, she's also able to be with longtime friends, including Marcus and June. This summer though, joy is tempered with sorrow, as the close-knit community grieves June's husband's death. But it's also a time of growth, healing, and new perspectives, as Derby progressively discovers the multifaceted meanings of friendship, family, and home. Vibrant, engaging Derby and her descriptive first-person narrative, full of lively and poignant touches, are compelling and affecting, from how her family copes with her own mother's absence to vividly portraying small-town life with a nostalgic and timeless feel. The abundant baseball elements reinforce the themes of finding strength in coming together, even in the face of loss. A heartfelt, immersive debut, perfect for sports fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)