Margie feels lost. Perpetually in the shadow of her brilliant baby sister Peep, worried sick about upsetting her Daddy and surrounded by her mother’s overwhelming collection of poultry, Margie feels thoroughly unimportant. When she and Peep return home one day to discover their mother is gone, Margie takes charge, takes her father’s Ford, nearly kidnaps her sister Peep and heads out to search for her Mamma. During their trip Margie does a lot of thinking, not only about her family but her place in it.
Readers are required to rely nearly as much on what remains unsaid as what is on the page. Momma and Daddy are shown through the lens of their twelve year old daughter, which can make it very hard to determine just how neglectful they are. Do you trust Margie’s perception of her father as a frightening man who clearly favors her sister?
The ending of the book was fortunately not a pat storybook wrap up. But most importantly, it calls into question Margie’s portrayal of her father.
The content in this book skews towards middle grades. The mother’s obsession with birds and poultry is a bit odd and may be confusing to readers.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Margie has noticed a boy in her class. She has to dance a square dance with him and his fingers on her wrist make her arm tingle.
Profanity – “shut up,” “shoot,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Sometimes Margie wants to yank Peep’s hair. Peep kicks Maggie. Daddy once chopped a snake to bits. Margie worries that if she’s in trouble Daddy might pinch her too hard. There is a reference to Cain killing Abel. Peep announces that the majority of car wrecks result in at least one fatality.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Daddy smokes cigarettes sometimes.
Frightening or Intense Things – Feelings of abandonment are a major theme in this book. The fact that the mother is the person who left may be frightening for some readers. The fact of an underage driver (particularly as young as Margie) will worry many adults.
