A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories

by Richard Peck

This Newbery Honor Winner and National Book Award Finalist is an unforgettable modern classic and features the debut of the larger-than-life Grandma Dowdel
 
What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice—two city slickers from Chicago—make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town?
August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy.
August 1930: The Cowgill boys terrorize the town, and Grandma fights back.
August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma trespass, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry—all in one day.
 
And there's more, as Joey and Mary Alice make seven summer trips to Grandma's—each one funnier than the year before—in self-contained chapters that readers can enjoy as short stories or take together for a rip-roaringly good novel. In the tradition of American humorists from Mark Twain to Flannery O'Connor, popular author Richard Peck has created a memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining.   
 
Newbery Honor Winner
National Book Award Finalist
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book
New York Times Best Seller
 
“A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories.”—School Library Journal (starred review)
 
“A novel that skillfully captures the nuances of small-town life […] Remarkable and fine.”—Kirkus (starred review)
 
“Fresh, warm and anything but ordinary.”—Publishers Weekly

• ISBN10: 0803722907
• ISBN13: 9780803722903
• Publish Date: 1 September 1998 (first published 1 January 1998)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: E P Dutton & Co Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 160
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780803722903

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Find more reviews like this at The Literary Phoenix.

Joey and Mary Alice are being shipped off to their grandmother's house.

Every year during summer break, Joey and his little sister Mary Alice are packed off and set on a train to go visit their grandmother.  She lives in a small town a good ways off from the wild Chicago life that the kids are used to, and so it takes them a little while to adjust.  Every year, though, is a new adventure.

From dead bodies to the oldest living settler, every summer is filled with surprises for the kids, who never quite know what their grandmother is up to!

This book was a delight.

The writing style of A Long Way From Chicago reminds me of Anne of Green Gables.  It is sweet, sincere, and shocking at times.  The narrator, Ron McLarty, did an incredible job fluctuation between different characters and bringing them all to life.  I love the snapshots into Joey's life.  Peck presents the different aspects of this book in such as way that it's like sitting with someone over dinner and listening to them reminisce about the good old days.  It's charming.

And yet, Peck also bring's Grandma's town to life.  You really get a sense of the old houses and society circles and the backwoods and the rumbling train that cuts the town in half.  That's not always present in this type of book, but it makes the stories much more animated and interesting.

Grandma is a hoot.

You can't help but love the rascally old woman.  When you're first introduced to Grandma, she's correcting some gossip the kids heard in town.  A minute later, she's talking to a reporter and giving a completely different story!  Grandma's trickery is a consistent theme throughout the book.  She's the type of lady who knows what she wants and goes out to get it.  And as a reader, you're on the edge of your seat wondering what she's up to now.

For all her lying and cheating, Grandma is a good-hearted soul and does things for the right reasons.  The last story in the book pulled at my heartstrings.  That's all I'm going to say.

This is an endearing read for all ages.

I don't care if you're 6 or 60 - A Long Way From Chicago is a quick read with great characters and a wonderful spin of tales.  Especially for those who are enchanted by the past, this is a rewarding read.  I recommend it and it's definitely one I'm glad I experienced!