Keith Calabrese

Middle school classmates, a story-telling teacher, adults involved in children's lives and parents who negatively impact their kids are all thrown into the mix of small town life. Ernest is a smart kid without a clue, but because his father is the major employer in town other kids leave him alone. The bullies have no problem, however, picking on Winston, a boy with East Indian heritage. Ryan is a good kid, mowing lawn and other chores for an elderly neighbor. That neighbor lives across from Ernest's grandfather's house, who has recently died. Ernest promised his grandfather he would "take care of" the things left behind in his attic, but as he does so it seems to set off a chain of events that affects the lives of the whole town. Listening in at the town's wishing well, we see that everyone has their own private worries.
Mr. Earle, the teacher, sets the tone of the story in the early chapters during a class discussion about why we have folklore and legends: to "make sense of things people couldn't understand" (p.32), find a scapegoat when things go wrong, to scare kids to make them behave, and (later) "a shared history, a way to relate to each other." (p.298).
This is a book about hope, so of course all the problems we see are taken care of. And empowering our kids with hope that they can have a role in making the world a better place is not a bad thing.… (mehr)