Bloomsbury, 2007HC $15.99/Public Library
181 pgs.
For: Middle Grades (one site shows ages 8-12, one says grade 7 up, though I'm not sure why)
Rating: 4
Josie Wyatt has cerebral palsy, which affects her left hand and arm as well as her speech. However, she just wants to ignore it. People think she's a "retard", but only because she has to work to speak well and because of her physical shortcomings. But she's really, really bright and knows a huge amount about nature and gardening. She is being raised by her single mom and her single grandma. Her mom is rarely home, she's working on a double major and is very job-oriented. It's her grandmother that has taught her about the world.
The farm the Wyatt's live on has been slowly surrounded by massive homes as developers take over much of the land. A new boy, one who happens to be in her class in school, moves into one of the mansions just behind her. He is a naturalist, a scientist, and the two hit it off immediately. This, of course, will change her life.
This is a quick read, but written in lovely verse form:
Kingdom of Imaginary Worlds
An oily stink
blows in again from the bulldozers---
those metal monster dinosaurs
that scar the landscape
behind our old farm.
The tornadoes of dust they kick up
as they move closer each season
leave the porch cushions
and our teeth
dusted with a grimy film.
The echoes
of early-morning hammering
wake me
even on Saturday mornings.
And though I hate
what they've done
to my kingdom of imaginary worlds---
fairy towns and factories
closed,
the summer camp for ogres
shut down,
a homeless shelter for gnomes
flattened---
with chin on knees
I can't help but study the men,
busy as bugs,
not satisfied until they
block another tree
from me.
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