Rating: 4 stars
Cover synopsis: During the Great Depression, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice -- two city slickers from Chicago -- make their annual summer visit to Grandma Dowdel's sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find that it's far from sleepy ... and Grandma is far from typical.
This book was really entertaining. A good piece of storytelling about summertime in a small town through the eyes of a pair of outsiders. Still, I waffled back and forth between giving it 3 stars and 4 stars. Because while I enjoyed the read, I kept waiting for it all to have a point. And while I came up with a few nebulous theories, I haven't settled on anything better than "people aren't always what they seem." Still, it was entertaining, and I read it all in a day. So 4 stars it is!
Grandma Dowdel is a character -- she puts off the vibe of an old miserly widow, but through her antics we discover she really has a heart of gold for those that deserve it. From playing a trick on a local reporter that involved a dead body, to aiding a pair of runaway lovebirds by channeling an old ghost story, things are never dull.
Made me nostalgic for a home in the country, even though I've never had one, or stayed in one. So I guess the writing was effective after all.
