Countdown
Even the 45 r.p.m. record pictured on the book jacket of Deborah Wiles鈥檚 newest novel feels real 鈥� vinyl, black, shiny, and just begging young readers to come in and explore.
Set in 1962, Countdown is fifth-grader Franny Chapman鈥檚 story to tell. Her dad serves in the Air Force and is often absent from home. Her mother is long-suffering, overburdened. Franny looks up to her sister, a college student with a shadowy parallel life, and tolerates her younger brother, the perfect child. Pretty much a run-of-the-mill 1960s family so far.
Then there鈥檚 Uncle Otts, a World War I veteran, convinced the bomb is about to drop and that the Chapmans鈥� Maryland town will be targeted. Although her uncle sometimes embarrasses her, Franny, and especially her brother, worry that he may be right. Perhaps their secure world is about to explode. Why else would teachers admonish them to 鈥淒uck and Cover!鈥� and why would the Cubans aim their missiles at the elementary school playground?
Wiles鈥檚 novel 鈥� the first in a trilogy about the 鈥�60s 鈥� revolves around the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it鈥檚 more than history. Franny鈥檚 friendships are as tangled as any contemporary 11-year-old鈥檚. Her budding crush on the nice-as-can-be Cute Boy and her changing relationship with her sister could take place anywhere, anytime. That鈥檚 just one of the many reasons this book will be a huge hit with middle-grade readers.
Even the minor characters are written to perfection. Franny鈥檚 teacher, who appears to be an aggravation, plays out as a perfect twist to the story鈥檚 ending. Her uncle, afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, digs up the yard for his bomb shelter, suffering a humiliating breakdown in front of the neighborhood. Yet he manages to endear himself to his family.
鈥淐ountdown鈥� is billed as a documentary novel, a mostly new genre in kids鈥� books. Flowing, collagelike, throughout the story are photographs, music, and even reports that sound remarkably like fifth-grade social studies assignments on historical figures (Harry Truman, the Kennedys, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer).
Whether young readers will decipher the lyrics, the newspaper headlines, and the facts on the same level as adults more familiar with the events of 1962 doesn鈥檛 really matter. Reading Wiles鈥檚 remarkable new book, they鈥檒l now experience the history and story through the eyes and heart of funny, appealing, conflicted young Franny Chapman. And, after all, that鈥檚 what savoring a truly great book is all about.
Augusta Scattergood frequently reviews children鈥檚 books for the Monitor.
