SWEAR TO HOWDY
by Wendelin van Draanen
Knopf
ISBN: 0375825053
Ages 10-up
144 pages

• Read an Excerpt

When Russell Cooper moves in next door to Joey Banks, the two boys become best friends. Joey nicknames Russell "Rusty" and from that moment on they share secrets and cause mischief. From accessorizing their sisters' drinks with bugs to hiding the fact that the family goldfish won't survive no matter what Joey does, they never run out of adventures.

All of their mishaps have one thing in common: Rusty always swears that he'll never breathe a word about anything that goes wrong, no matter how much it might hurt other people or how much it eats him inside. But when a tragic accident occurs, Rusty realizes that friendship, loyalty and secrecy are not always bound together, and that telling what appears to be a harmful secret might sometimes be beneficial in the end.

Wendelin van Draanen, author of the SAMMY KEYES mysteries, tries her hand at a new voice here --- that of a Southern boy. While the voice feels authentic, the plot tends to lag until the predictable end, where it rushes through some of the most emotionally important aspects of the story. Because of the possible intense implications of Joey and Rusty's actions, the conclusion seems too neat, with every character and their futures accounted for. There is no question that the lesson SWEAR TO HOWDY teaches is important, but it comes out as formulaic rather than thought provoking.

   --- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft Webber

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