Last in a Long Line of Rebels

Young people who like Southern fiction with a smidge of history and a dash of mystery won't want to miss this little gem. Tyre's wonderful debut novel gives narrator Dorothy Blue a chance to show her prodigious skills. Blue gives every character a unique Southern voice--from main character 12-year-old Louise Mayhew to her feisty, flirty grandmother, Birdie. An additional character is Louise's ancestor whose Civil War-era diary entries add the history as well as characters of the period. Is the Civil War gold mentioned in the diary real or just legend? Can it somehow help Louise and her friends save the 176-year-old house that has been the Mayhew home for generations? Blue mixes in the mystery with a sure hand. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 15, 2015
Tyre’s accomplished debut takes place in 1999 in the small Southern town of Zollicoffer, Tenn., where 12-year-old Lou Mayhew’s 175-year-old home is her only claim to fame. The daughter of a junkman and a pregnant “enviro-artist” mother, Lou is determined that the summer before seventh grade will be less boring than the previous one. Eavesdropping one day, she learns that her beloved house may soon be razed, and her mission immediately becomes clear. Enlisting her best friends to help save her home, high-spirited, persistent Lou finds a new interest in history—especially her family’s, which holds its own surprises. As the four children try to solve a Civil War mystery and find a cache of purportedly missing gold, they also confront a contemporary case of racism. Strong secondary characters, including Lou’s thrice-divorced flirtatious grandmother, help build the strong sense of small-town community. Tyre masterfully weaves historical details into Lou’s discoveries in ways that never feel facile, while deftly and satisfyingly resolving past and present puzzles. Ages 10–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Bent Agency.