Blossoms Meet the Vulture Lady
Grade 5-7 Mad Mary, who lives in a cave and collects her meat from the highway, rescues Junior Blossom from a cage and takes him home to keep him safe when she thinks that he has been abused. Actually, Junior had made that cage himself, hoping to trap a coyote and win a reward. His disappearance brings out his entire family (introduced in The Not-Just-Anybody Family Delacorte, 1986), and each one's personality, fears, and needs is highlighted during the search. This is a lively, likable family, handled lightly but surely by an author known for her abiltiy to write believable dialogue and present the desires of her characters with humor and understanding. Mad Mary's history, sketched throughout the story, brings readers more and more into contact with an independent, determined woman who has created a workable life for herself. If some would argue that mental illness rather than independence drove her to the cage, then at least her illness is that of a genuinely caring person bewildered by the world of man. This is a short book, moving from one character to another and back again in a way that may confuse less sophisticated readers. The situation isn't as dramatic as in The Not-Just-Anybody Family , and the action is more diffused through the characters' internal lives. Yet thoughtful readers will find the story to be satisfying, and Mary and Junior's friendship heartwarming. Sara Miller, White Plains Public Library, N.Y.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.