The Mighty Miss Malone

This is the newest book from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy, and it is just as wonderful as those books!  Curtis's gift is his ability to create believable characters and situations.  The tone of the books is at times hilarious and at times heartbreaking.  (I'm a fan in case you couldn't tell.)

Deza and her family live in Gary, Indiana, in the 1930's, the heart of the Great Depression.  Money is tight, but the Malones are getting by.  Deza loves school and reading, and everyone believes she will do great things.  Her older brother Jimmy is a gifted singer, but he looks like a child because of an undiagnosed disorder.  Father likes to joke around and tell stories with his Darling Daughter Deza and Genuine Gentle Jumping Giant Jimmy.

But things take a turn for the worse when Father is involved in an accident, and the bad news seems to be coming in more than threes.  The Malones have always been a family on the Road to Wonderful, but now they've lost their way.  Deza wants to be hopeful, but it's hard waiting for things to look up again.  Read the book to find out how the Malone family gets back on that Road to Wonderful.