From Kirkus Reviews
A fine author considers what it means to be a homeless 11- year-old in N.Y.C. Clay Garrity's dad, an art director, was out of work; Clay's mother trained for a good job--but it wasn't enough, especially with a baby coming. Unable to cope, Dad disappeared; now, without warning, Clay's distraught mother has also abandoned him, leaving him in an unsavory welfare hotel. When a neighbor suggests calling the police, Clay bolts, afraid that becoming a foster child would mean losing his mother forever. He lands in a park with Buddy, a hard-working young black man who can't earn enough for a rent deposit, and with Calvin, a retired teacher who lost everything in a fire. Weeks later, their fragile existence is destroyed by an invasion of raging toughs (``the stump people'') who demolish their meager, hard-won amenities and scatter the park's inhabitants. Indirect results include Calvin's death; Clay, weak from malnutrition and exposure, is hospitalized. Focusing on a child who has been secure and well-loved intensifies the impact of his deprivations and suggests that Clay's cruel experiences could happen to anyone. It also allows a subtly upbeat ending: herself again after the baby's birth, Clay's mother finds him, and he begins to forgive her. Exquisitely crafted with spare but resonant detail (like describing, with wry wit, but not quoting the angry four-letter words of the stump people--and contrasting them to Clay's reiterated graffiti: ``Stop!'')--an absorbing, profoundly disturbing but ultimately hopeful story. (Fiction. 9+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book for ChildrenA Horn Book Fanfare Selection
“An emotionally powerful story . . . These are characters readers will understand and care about. . . . Masterfully crafted.” —The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
“[Fox] tells with almost unbearable clarity about a boy’s quest to find himself.” —Booklist, starred review
“Exquisitely crafted with spare but resonant detail . . . an absorbing, profoundly disturbing but ultimately hopeful story.” —Kirkus Reviews, pointer review
“Delicate and moving . . . A relentless story that succeeds in conveying the bitter facts.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A quietly terrifying, wholly compelling novel . . . Once again, Fox displays her remarkable ability to render life as seen by a sensitive child. . . . Clear-eyed and unblinking as ever, she shows us the grit, misery and despair of the homeless.” —Publishers Weekly
“A carefully crafted, thoughtful book.” —School Library Journal
From the Publisher
Eleven-year-old Clay Garrity is on his own. His father lost his job and left the family. Now Clay's mother is gone from their welfare hotel.Clay is homeless and out on the streets of New York. In the park he meets two homeless men. Buddy and Calvin become Clay's new family during those harsh winter weeks. But the streets are filled with danger and despair.
If Clay leaves the streets he may never find his parents again. But if he stays on the streets he may not survive at all.
From the Inside Flap
Eleven-year-old Clay Garrity is on his own. His father lost his job and left the family. Now Clay's mother is gone from their welfare hotel.
Clay is homeless and out on the streets of New York. In the park he meets two homeless men. Buddy and Calvin become Clay's new family during those harsh winter weeks. But the streets are filled with danger and despair.
If Clay leaves the streets he may never find his parents again. But if he stays on the streets he may not survive at all.
About the Author
Paula Fox was a notable figure in contemporary American literature. She earned wide acclaim for her children’s books, as well as for her novels and memoirs for adults. Born in New York City on April 22, 1923, her early years were turbulent. She moved from upstate New York to Cuba to California, and from one school to another. An avid reader at a young age, her love of literature sustained her through the difficulties of an unsettled childhood. At first, Fox taught high school, writing only when occasion permitted. Soon, however, she was able to devote herself to writing full-time, but kept a foot in the classroom by teaching creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and the State University of New York.
In her novels for young readers, Fox fearlessly tackles difficult topics such as death, race, and illness. She has received many distinguished literary awards including a Newbery Medal for The Slave Dancer (1974), a National Book Award for A Place Apart (1983), and a Newbery Honor for One-Eyed Cat (1984). Worldwide recognition for Fox’s contribution to literature for children came with the presentation of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978.
Fox’s novels for adults have also been highly praised. Her 2002 memoir, Borrowed Finery, received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir, and in 2013 the Paris Review presented her with the Hadada Award, honoring her contribution to literature and the writing community. In 2011, Fox was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.
Fox passed away in 2017 at the age of ninety-three.
