Strrr-Ike!!: Emmett Ashford, Major League UmpireThis upbeat and fast-moving story deals with the subject of children who face life-threatening diseases in a fun and entertaining way. It centers on Erika Reisling, an eleven-year-old whose active life is threatened by leukemia. Despite her weekly treatments, complete hair loss, and the seemingly endless waiting for a bone marrow donor for a transplant, she energetically deals with it by playing hard with her mischievous neighborhood friends and by suppressing her fears of death deep within herself. Erika's only other problem comes in the form of her next-door neighbor, the mean and arrogant Mrs. McGillacuddy. A miserable, old money aristocrat whose property borders the Reislings, Mrs. McGillacuddy despises her middle-class neighbors and their pets, especially Erika's sheepdog, Mooflee, whom she attempts to impound. At the suggestion of her kindly parents, Erika heads off to spend a week at Camp Good Days (a real-life cancer camp in western New York State), where she has a delightful time meeting and playing with other children who are dealing with life-threatening diseases. Among those she befriends is Luc, a little boy from France who knows he does not have long to live. He is wise for his young age and Erika learns from him. What she gains from him ultimately helps her in her climatic confrontation with Mrs. McGillacuddy, and with herself when her disease takes a turn for the worse and sends her back into the hospital. With an ending that is rip-roaring, rambunctious, and heartwarming, Mrs. McGillacuddy's Garden Party is written in a light and playful style that will assuredly give the reader tears and smiles. |
