The Latest Reading

My reread of the works of Eloise Jarvis McGraw continues!

• A Really Weird Summer is, well, weird, and Eloise's firsht brush with the supernatural. Nels' parents are getting a divorce and both working far away for the summer, so the kids are shuffled off to an aunt's place in rural eastern Oregon that used to be an inn. It's weird enough dealing with not having either parent, and dealing with their aunt and uncle's quirky ways, but when Nels spots a mysterious figure in a mirror, it just gets weirder. Alan befriends Nels and gives him something to focus on for the summer, but before long he realizes that there's something weird about Alan. How come Alan can't leave his rooms in the inn? Why does he never see Alan's mother, or any evidence of his father? But it takes Nels' brother, Stevie, to figure out that something is seriously wrong with Nels, and Stevie decides it's up to him to do something about it. Eloise has a great sense of knowing what's important in a kid's world, and uses that knowledge to give her stories depth and heft — three-dimensionality, as the late Warren Hollister put it. The weird stuff is never explicitly stated or explained, which just adds to the weirdness, but it is definitely there, adding a layer to at least Nels' experiences in the book. Although not the kind of book that usually has pictures, Eloise also contributed two drawings of the inn, before and after Nels' experineces, just to show how weird things are. Even though I doubt you could call this a mystery, I can see why the Mystery Writers of America gave its Edgar Award for Best Juvenile to this book.
• Normally I only read one of Eloise's books at a time, but I know that Joel and the Great Merlini, her only book for very young readers, would be a quick read, so I added it. Joel loves doing magic tricks, but is frustrated that he can't always get them right, even with practice. So he wishes on the evening star, and the Great Merlini is there to help him out. Only trouble is, Merlini's idea of magic doesn't jibe with Joel's. Merlini practically takes over Joel's act and has Joel performing real magic, like pulling a St. Bernard out af a hat! At first, though, Joel doesn't mind, and he's a smash at the school's talent night. But Merlini's tricks are so good that Joel is suddenly doing shows several nights a week, and his schoolwork is suffering. Not only that, he becomes more and more uneasy that Merlini's doing most of the work. This leads Joel to have to make some very tough decisions, and dealing with Merlini. It's a fun little romp about integrity and persistence without getting preachy. Joel is definitely a good kid, even if it takes him a while to figure out the right thing to do.