Oct 21, 20214 min read

Book Review: "A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck

Updated: Dec 30, 2021

ABOUT + INSIGHT

” - straight into the annals of undying fame!” I laughed as I sat down for breakfast.

My family exchanged puzzled looks around the table. Of course, they did not understand... they had no clue of what I was saying. I continue to laugh as I explain.

I recently read a great book called “A Year Down Yonder” by Richard Peck. It was about this girl called Mary Alice Dowdel, who transfers from Chicago down to Illinois Country where her Grandma lives due to the Roosevelt Recession. Mary Alice narrates about her life down in the country and how she adjusts to it. My favorite part, or story, in the book, is this.

"Royce McNabb was finding things we had in common, without even being prompted. Sweet, silent Sunday afternoon seemed to unfold before us, and I could swear I heard violin music from nowhere. I searched for a reply worthy of Royce. I searched too long.

A bloodcurdling scream from over our heads cut Sunday afternoon in two.

Then mingled screams, from up in the attic, and crashing and banging like you never heard. Royce came up in a crouch.

We both heard Grandma's feet hit the floor by her bed. When she galloped into the front room, she was wearing an old bathrobe and Grandpa Dowdel's Romeo house shoes. Her spectacles hung from one ear. On her way through the kitchen she'd grabbed up her twelve-gauge Winchester from behind the woodbox.

"Where's it coming from?" she demanded. Royce shied at the sight of the gun, and Grandma, but we both pointed to the ceiling. Plaster dust sifted down. Now the crashing and banging and running into things was coming from straight overhead, from Arnold Green.

Somebody was thundering down the stairs. When she came into view, it was Maxine Patch, the postmistress. Draped and coiled all over her was the biggest snake I've ever seen outside the Brookfield Zoo. It looped around her shoulders where it seemed to have dropped on her. It clung to one of her sizable hips. And there was still snake to spare.

And though I couldn't believe my eyes---and heaven knows, Royce couldn't believe his---the snake was all Maxine wore.

She did a dance around the platform rocker, barefoot. Bare everything except for a rose in her hair. She was all ghastly pale flesh and black snake. And she couldn't shake that snake for all the shimmying in the world.

Grandma worked around her to get the front door open. With a scream and a hiss, Maxine and the snake leaped through it. They did a fast Hawaiian hula off the porch and skimmed around the snowball bushes, making for town.

"That's too good a show to keep to ourselves," Grandma said. With the thought, she was through the door and out in the front yard. Planting her house shoes, she jammed the Winchester into her shoulder, aimed high, and squeezed off both barrels. The world exploded. Birds rose shrieking from the trees, and the town woke with a start. When people alerted by the gunfire ran to their windows, they saw Maxine Patch as nature intended, speeding past their houses and straight into the annals of undying fame."

A Dangerous Man, pg 95

Richard Peck is the author of the Newbery Honor Book (plus several other awards), "A Long Way from Chicago." This book is a prequel to "A Year Down Yonder." After this, the next book to read is, "A Season of Gifts."

AGE-APPROPRIATE + ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Ages 9 and up, grades 3-7

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dial Books; Reprint edition (November 21, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0142300705
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0439325431
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Best Sellers Rank: #63,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #121 in Children's 1900s American Historical Fiction
- #1,125 in Children's Classics
- #3,393 in Historical Romances

5 out of 5 stars! I really loved this book… I couldn't stop reading it.

PRAISE

"This is just another wonderful book by Peck. I'm really looking forward to one more encounter with Grandma Dowdel in A Season of Gifts. She's unforgettable!"

4 stars

Melki from Goodreads

"Gorgeous kid's book for all ages. Grandma is really hilarious.

A laugh and a (happy) tear. A fun read. Makes you feel good.

I read A long way from Chicago, the first book, years ago and been meaning to read this one for a long time. And my, is it worthed.

Recommended!"

4 stars

Annet from Goodreads

"Peck shows a deft hand at striking a folksy note but not going overboard to “cutesy.” People may be slightly exaggerated, but their lives and occupations ring true. I believe that, while this book is intended for teens and young adults, it can be appreciated by a wider audience. I certainly enjoyed the descriptions of rural life and the humorous characterizations. 4.5* Thanks again, to my GR friend, Julie, for spotlighting this for me."

HBalikov from Goodreads

"This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Year-round fun."