Lutricia Clifton

Seems like a fairly straightforward kid-with-challenges story, but Frankie is so full of heart that the book becomes very hard to put down. Frankie's mom has been put in jail. His estranged father comes to Texas to collect him and move him to a new home in Illinois with 4 younger half siblings. Frankie's distressed at having to leave his beloved trailer park and his trio of elderly friends there, and the move to Illinois becomes extra challenging when the extent of Frankie's school deficit becomes apparent. He handles things silently, gracefully, with his own agenda and becomes more embedded in the community as time goes on. Some heartbreaking scenes, some bullying, and a lot of adult conversations that go over his head but lead the reader to some ominous foreshadowing. It's really well done. I like the time and date format -- reads like short journal entries, which are easy chunks of narrative to take in.… (mere)

Twelve-year-old Frankie Joe Huckaby can't find anything good to say about Clearview, IL, where he must spend the next ten months living with a father he knows only through birthday cards, a stepmother he didn't know existed, and four half brothers intent on making him the "freak" of the town. When life in Clearview becomes unbearable, Frankie Joe hatches a plan to ride his bike back to the Lone Star Trailer Park in Laredo, TX. For that he needs money, and so he opens Frankie Joe's Freaky Fast Delivery Service. But Frankie Joe hasn't counted on quirky clients, unpredictable winter weather, and his equally unpredictable new family.… (mere)