MMGM- Trailer (Park) Life

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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Vitalis, Jessica. Coyote Queen

October 10, 2023 by Greenwillow Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Twelve-year-old Fud (Felicity Ulysses Dahlers lives with her mother and her mother's boyfriend Larry in a trailer in a remote part of Wyoming, and hopes to one day become a wildlife biologist. She and her mother have been homeless; her father was from Spain and is not in the picture. Larry is a former boxer whose career has been sidelined by a back injury, and he drinks a bit too much. When he does, he is often volatile and often hits Fud's mother. He is also very controlling of what both of them do, micromanaging the way the home is run, how the money is spent, and what Fud is allowed to do. There is very little money, and Fud's clothes all come from second hand shops or garage sales. Her classmates, like Ava, make fun of her for this. When a new girl moves in to a neighboring trailer, Fud doesn't have much hope that Leigh will be different from Ava, but she is. Leigh's mother is an artist and photographer, and the two have more resources than the Dahlers. Fud is amazed at the number of clothes that Leigh has, and the kind of food that they have in their cabinets. Leigh decides to enter the Miss Tween Black Gold Pageant, which Rud thinks is ridiculous until she finds out that there is big prize money. If she could win, maybe she and her mother could escape Larry. She agrees to enter with Leigh, and the two make the cut for the pageant. Fud didn't plan for needing an expensive dress or having a talent, but as things worsen at home, she tries to come of with a pageant plan. Larry has been hitting her mother, who is now pregnant, more and more, and he has also brought home a boat that he is hoping to renovate so that the family can live on it. Fud puts up with girls like Ava at the pageant practices who make fun of her, but she is also dealing with some weird physical symptoms; sometimes her vision goes black and white, and she feels a strong connection with a local coyote, having vivid dreams about being with the pups. As Larry's boat makes progress, Fud keeps the fact that she may move away a secret from Leigh. Things come to a head on the day of the pageant. Larry is ready to head out and has become even more controlling of Fud and her mother, Fud and Leigh having a falling out, and Fud experiences some alarming further connections with the coyotes. In the end, it's all too much, and she finally asks Leigh's mother Click for help. The author includes notes as to how the book was inspired by her own childhood, and lists resources where students can get help. 

Strengths: There are not enough books about children who are struggling in their daily lives, and there are certainly many children who do struggle. Before I started teaching, I babysat two neighbor girls in the summer, and they used to open my cabinets and stare because we had food in them. Their family was fairly stable, but often struggled financially. Looking at the statistics about domestic violence, there should be many more books with children in these circumstances. I liked that Fud was realistic about her circumstances and had some strategies in place for dealing with Larry, but also that she knew this was not a way she should have to live. Leigh was especially great because she was very accepting even when Fud was reluctant to befriend anyone, and Click is a good example of a "trusted adult" we are always telling students to locate. The pageant details are not too overwhelming, and Fud's participation is very realistic. This definitely presented a picture of hope that will be valuable to many students. 

Weaknesses: I could have done without the connection to the coyotes, because that does put this book firmly in the fantasy realm, like this author's Wolf's Curse or Rabbit's Gift. It's still a good story, but the introduction of fantasy elements makes it a little harder to get readers interested. I've found that Messner's 2016 The Seventh Wish, which has some similarities, takes some handselling for this reason. Other libraries may not have this problem. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the mix of problems and fantasy in Smy's The Hideaway or Rauf's The Star Outside My Window or even more realistic books like Lowell's The Road to After.

Supplee, Suzanne. Sweetness All Around
October 24, 2023 by Holiday House
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In 1974, Josephine and her mother are struggling in Glendale, Tennessee. The mother is a seamstress who does custom home furnishings, and is divorced from Josephine's father, who has never been very helpful. After a warehouse fire that took the mother's workspace and inventory, the two have had to give up their comfortable apartment and move into the Happy World Trailer Park, where they are renting a trailer. Josephine is NOT happy about this, and after storming out, she investigates her new environment. She sees a pair of tennis shoes on a porch that look like they belong to someone her age, but the woman who answers the door says there are no children are there, but points her to the home of Lisa Marie. The two become friends, and Lisa Marie (who is being raised by her grandfather and great uncle, who is ill with cancer) tells her that the owner of the shoes was Molly, a girl their age who was kidnapped by her father and grandmother. Her mother, Helen-Dove, has been understandably standoffish and quiet, going to her manufacturing job and consulting with a local policeman for updates. Josephine thinks that she should investigate and try to see if she can find the missing girl, and occasional glimpses at Helen-Dove's misdelivered mail encourage her that the girl is not far away. There are other things going on in the summer; she goes with her mother to install projects, and to get fabric at Miss Augustine's store, deals with the park manager, a very unpleasant woman named Miss Connie, and is concerned about Lisa Marie. Since there is no mother in the picture, Lisa Marie is often unkempt, uses the word "ain't" (which has been schooled right out of Josephine's vocabulary), and at one point gets lice and has her head shaved by her grandfather. Josephine's mother and Helen-Dove bond over their love of needlework and their shared circumstances of living in the trailer park. This bond helps convince Helen-Dove to believe Josephine and Lisa Marie that Molly is the one sending postcards, in code, and that they should travel to Pickersgill, Alabama, to rescue her. Will this investigation help all three girls to be more secure in their family life? 

Strengths: Triple bonus points to Supplee for including Baby Tender Love, Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo, Dip-a-Flower and other crafts, and eating out at DQ! Clearly, she is almost exactly my age, and the cultural references were completely on point! So was the trailer park, and the general air of economic uncertainty at this period of time. The 1970s is a bit of a lost period in #MGLit, and I'm glad that we are seeing a few more depictions of it, although there are still some actual 1970s titles around. Josephine's unhappiness at her family's transition gives way to a more "can do" attitude, and she quickly makes friends with the only available child. Probably the best part of the whole book for me was how Josephine's mother acted; very prim and proper, despite her reduced circumstances, and she takes an interest in heling Lisa Marie, whose upbringing is troubling but also very common. I seem to remember there being a lot of concern about parental abductions in years past (Norma Fox Mazer's 1981 Taking Terri Mueller and Pfeffer's 1994 Twice Taken comes to mind), and it's certainly a topic that appeals to readers who like mysteries. 
Weaknesses: I wish there had been a little more portrayal of Josephine investigating Molly's disappearance or life; the beginning of the book sets this up but then is more concerned with Lisa Marie's sad family plight before returning to Molly. It picks up again once the road trip is planned. The only historical detail I would have any quibble about was the former landlady being depicted as buying nail polish for Josephine at "the Dollar Store". Wouldn't it have been referred to as "the five and dime" at this point? Or a brand name, like Woolworth's of Ben Franklin? Since this is set in the south, it might be a regional difference. I was going to question that "stewed potatoes" should be "stewed tomatoes" until I Googled the former. Ew.
What I really think: I had to think a bit about why Supplee's name was familiar; she wrote the 2008 When Irish Guys are Smiling in the Students Across the Seven Seas series! I enjoyed this book a lot, and it will be a big hit in February when my students want books that make them feel better about their own lives. In my library, the books that fill this need are NOT the books where the main character loses parents, siblings, or friends to death, but when the main character is in less than ideal circumstances and has to survive. The 1970s references will appeal to those readers whose (gulp) grandmothers are my age!