Chris Woodworth

Thirteen-year-old Eddie McCall is a pretty normal kid being raised by a single mom in Chicago who “overreacts” when she finds out Eddie has broken her rules for computer use (friend Whip shares images of a naked woman he found via the Internet): Eddie is shipped off to a small Indiana town for the summer to live with Mom’s uncle Peavey, a strange old man (he lives in the house he was born in, still sleeps in his childhood bunkbed) who doesn’t even own a computer. Readers won’t be surprised to find out that both Peavey and Indiana reveal family secrets that provide Eddie with lots to think about in this interesting coming-of-age story. One criticism of the story is that it starts out seemingly being about potential Internet dangers but never really comes back to dealing with that issue. Some readers may feel short-changed. Recommended.… (more)

Thirteen-year-old Eddie McCall is a pretty normal kid being raised by a single mom in Chicago who “overreacts” when she finds out Eddie has broken her rules for computer use (friend Whip shares images of a naked woman he found via the Internet): Eddie is shipped off to a small Indiana town for the summer to live with Mom’s uncle Peavey, a strange old man (he lives in the house he was born in, still sleeps in his childhood bunkbed) who doesn’t even own a computer. Readers won’t be surprised to find out that both Peavey and Indiana reveal family secrets that provide Eddie with lots to think about in this interesting coming-of-age story. One criticism of the story is that it starts out seemingly being about potential Internet dangers but never really comes back to dealing with that issue. I'm sure a publisher's marketing decision but some readers may feel short-changed. Recommended.… (more)