This sparkling middle-grade debut is a classic-in-the-making! Maybelle Lane is looking for her father, but on the road to Nashville she finds so much more: courage, brains, heart—and true...
This sparkling middle-grade debut is a classic-in-the-making! Maybelle Lane is looking for her father, but on the road to Nashville she finds so much more: courage, brains, heart—and true...
Due to publisher restrictions, your digital library cannot purchase additional copies of this title. We apologize if there is a long holds list. You may want to see if other editions of this title are available from your digital library instead.
Due to publisher restrictions, your digital library cannot purchase additional copies of this title. We apologize if there is a long holds list. You may want to see if other editions of this title are available from your digital library instead.
Description-
This sparkling middle-grade debut is a classic-in-the-making! Maybelle Lane is looking for her father, but on the road to Nashville she finds so much more: courage, brains, heart—and true friends. Eleven-year-old Maybelle Lane collects sounds. She records the Louisiana crickets chirping, Momma strumming her guitar, their broken trailer door squeaking. But the crown jewel of her collection is a sound she didn't collect herself: an old recording of her daddy's warm-sunshine laugh, saved on an old phone's voicemail. It's the only thing she has of his, and the only thing she knows about him. Until the day she hears that laugh—his laugh—pouring out of the car radio. Going against Momma's wishes, Maybelle starts listening to her radio DJ daddy's new show, drinking in every word like a plant leaning toward the sun. When he announces he'll be the judge of a singing contest in Nashville, she signs up. What better way to meet than to stand before him and sing with all her heart? But the road to Nashville is bumpy. Her starch-stiff neighbor Mrs. Boggs offers to drive her in her RV. And a bully of a boy from the trailer park hitches a ride, too. These are not the people May would have chosen to help her, but it turns out they're searching for things as well. And the journey will mold them into the best kind of family—the kind you choose for yourself. Includes an original song introduced by the author.
Excerpts-
From the cover
Chapter 1 Most people don't think fate has a sound. But it does. Everything has a sound if you listen carefully enough. For example: Loneliness sounds like the drip-drop of a leaky faucet, or the clomp of footsteps in an empty parking lot. Dread is the vrr-vrr-vrr of a car engine that won't start. Love is the sound of Momma strumming her guitar and singing softly beneath her breath. And happiness? At the time, I didn't know what the sound of happiness was. I hadn't found it yet. As for fate, I imagine no two individual fates sound exactly the same. Yours might be the rip of an envelope or the ringing of a phone in the middle of the night. Mine arrived sounding like the deep, night-sky purr of a voice on the radio. Though, of course, I didn't know it was my fate at the time. Fate was the last thing on my mind that afternoon. It was the second week of summer vacation, and Momma and I were in the car on our way to the Shop 'n Save. I had a plastic bag full of coupons sticking to my bare legs, and the plastic beads on my necklace were knicker-knacking in the hot, soupy breeze coming in through my window. I usually loved trips to the Shop 'n Save. We went twice a month, and Momma let me pick out one special snack just for me, no matter how unhealthy it was. I would spend the whole car ride thinking about what I wanted. Sometimes I chose a king-size bag of Skittles (I always saved the orange ones for Momma), and other times, I got a box of Ritz Crackers and a can of Easy Cheese. But on that afternoon, the only thing I could think about was the torn top of Momma's special letter, sticking out of one of the cup holders. I could tell it was the only thing she could think about, too, because she kept running her fingers over its ragged edge, like she wanted to reassure herself it was real. Maybe she could tell my thoughts were in a stormy swirl, because she reached out and squeezed my hand. "May, I won't do it. Not if you don't want me to. Three weeks is a long time for me to be gone—" "No," I said. "You have to do it. I'll be fine. I swear." The letter was from the director of entertainment for Royale Cruises, and it was about a job as a musician on their fanciest ship, Heart of the Sea. Momma had auditioned for it on a whim, after someone who heard her playing at the Pit Stop Bar & Bar-B-Que had handed her a business card. Getting this job was her dream. It could be her big break, she told me, plus they were paying almost as much for three weeks' work as Momma usually made in three months. She had no formal training, so she figured she was the unlikeliest person on the planet to get the position. But she was wrong. Because here was the letter offering her a contract. She'd be going on a bunch of short cruises, shuttling back and forth between Miami and the Bahamas. The letter said she had to be in Miami for crew training in a few weeks. Three whole weeks. I'd never been without her for much more than a night. Two, at most. I tried to ignore the tightness in my chest, the painful and heavy thumping of my heart. I couldn't fall apart, not when she was so happy. So I forced myself to smile. "I'm excited for you, Momma. I'll be fine." "Maybe I could ask your gram to come stay?" Now that made my smile into something real. I hadn't seen Gram in a long time. Too long. "Really? You think she would?" "I hope so." She smiled back at me. "Thank you for being so understanding. Think what we can do with all that money. And, who knows, maybe this will open more doors. Maybe I can quit answering phones at the auto shop. Maybe they'll want me to come back and play on some other cruises, too." The hope...
About the Author-
KATE O'SHAUGHNESSY's love of reading and writing stories began in early childhood and only grew stronger. She has been a chef, earned a fellowship with the Yale Sustainable Food Program, and backpacked around the world. She and her husband live in Berkeley, CA. You can read more about her at kloshaughnessy.com and follow her on twitter at @kloshaughnessy.
Reviews-
Starred review from February 3, 2020 Eleven-year-old Maybelle and her mother moved to a trailer park in Davenport, La., after a falling-out with Maybelle’s Baton Rouge grandparents that she believes is her fault. Maybelle’s mom works two jobs but struggles to get by, and lonely Maybelle, who is white, is bullied after her mother goes on a date with Miss King, a teacher at her school. When her mom gets a monthlong job singing on a cruise, Maybelle is left in the care of African-American neighbor Mrs. Boggs. Learning that her dad, a radio DJ whom she’s never met, will be judging a singing contest in Nashville, she enters, then persuades Mrs. Boggs to drive her. Neighbor Tommy, who is white and Maybelle’s occasional bully, sneaks into the trailer, and Mrs. Boggs persuades Maybelle to give him a chance, knowing that Tommy may have his own struggles. Soon the threesome, along with a dog they rescue along the way, are having an enjoyable adventure. But Maybelle, who suffers from anxiety and a fear of singing, must dig deep to find the courage to perform when they finally arrive. Lyrical and full of heart, this road trip story gets to the core of what it means to create family, to be brave, and to accept the flaws of being human. Ages 8–12. Agent: Pete Knapp, Park Literary.
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