A Year Down Yonder

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A Year Down Yonder The 4/5 A class just finished reading “A Year Down Yonder”. This Newberry Award winning sequel to “A Long Way From Chicago” is written by Richard Peck. “A Year Down Yonder” stars Mary Alice Dowdel and her trigger-happy grandma, the one and only and feared Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice’s parents have gone off to find better jobs, amidst the Great Depression and her older brother, Joey has joined the C.C.C (Civilian Conservation Corps.) And the only place left for Mary Alice is her not-so-ladylike grandma, in her not-so-sleepy Illinois town. She doesn’t adjust very well because, like all schools there are bullies, popular kids, and just-plain-weird kids. Except she knows it is not Chicago, but she finds that hard to get used to. But Grandma took care of Mary Alice’s bullying problem by tricking the bully. Mary Alice was also very unhappy when Grandma told her about buttering Bootsie’s paws. Mary Alice did not like that Bootsie became an independent cat because that meant the part of her company had left her and no longer yearned for her attention. Grandma wasn’t too fond of Halloween. That year, when Mary Alice was visiting, the word got around that a group of boys had been trashing people’s port-a-pottys. Grandma planned a steak out and they waited until the boys came around. The end result was a boy getting his hair full of the stickiest glue ever and a broken, distorted nose. Armistice Day was a big deal in the time of the Depression. Where Grandma lived, people would gather together and they would have a turkey shoot. Grandma took over the Burgoo stew stand and charged money depending on how much Grandma knew they could spend instead of the usual dime. The evening ended with bang when Augie Fluke fired at a Buick while trying to shoot a bunny. Mary Alice, in her school Nativity scene, was chosen to me Virgin Mary. That upset

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