Walking with Miss Millie

May 15, 2017
Bundy debuts with an unlikely-friendship story, set in 1968, between a 10-year-old white girl and an elderly black neighbor. Alice, her mother, and her deaf six-year-old brother, Eddie, have moved from Columbus, Ohio, to the tiny town of Rainbow, Ga., to take care of Alice’s grandmother, newly suffering from what Alice calls “the forgetful disease.” Unwillingly displaced, Alice longs to reunite her separated parents; when she accidentally eavesdrops on a telephone party line, her mother makes her apologize and offer her help to one of the parties: 92-year-old Miss Millie, her grandmother’s widowed neighbor. Soon the two are taking daily walks with Miss Millie’s dog and confiding in each other. Slowly, through their conversations and through Alice’s daily observations and interactions in town, she awakens to segregation and prejudice. Miss Millie is somewhat broadly drawn, but what could be a stereotypical relationship is made richer by Alice’s growing individuality as a character. While the book offers no real surprises, Bundy avoids the expected plot development surrounding Alice’s deadbeat dad, and Alice’s strong character development makes for a satisfying read. Ages 10–up. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency.

Bundy has a winner with her debut novel, and Catherine Taber's performance is almost perfect as she captures the voice and feelings of 12-year-old Alice. It's 1968 when Alice, her mother, and her deaf younger brother, Eddie, relocate to Rainbow, Georgia, to care for her grandmother. Expert pacing and tone convey Alice's swirling emotions of hurt, anger, sadness, and, finally, acceptance and peace as she fights, then gradually comes to terms with, her new reality. Taber also convincingly inhabits the voice of Miss Millie, the "colored" elderly neighbor who shares her life, stories, and wisdom with Alice on their daily walks with Clarence the dog. A "dang" good story would have been perfect if only Taber had sung instead of reciting Miss Millie's favorite song. N.E.M. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine