UNDER THE WATSON'S PORCH
by Susan Shreve
Yearling
ISBN: 0440419697
Ages 10-13
208 pages

Twelve-year old Ellie Tremont feels like the hot summer days in suburbia are blending into each other, with one as boring as the next. Everything changes when the Bowers family moves in next door. The Bowers are older parents who adopted fourteen-year old Tommy just four years ago. The neighborhood is already bursting with gossip, even before the new family moves in. Tommy is known to be a "handful" and "had been in trouble with the police."

Ellie meets Tommy Bowers at the peak of her boredom. It's her birthday, and instead of celebrating with friends, Ellie is home alone drinking lemonade out of a wine glass. She had to cancel her birthday party because Rosie O'Leary from school was having hers on the same day, and she sent out her invitations before Ellie. And to make matters worse, Ellie wasn't even invited to Rosie's party!

Tommy Bowers sees Ellie on her front porch and calls her over. He's examining the Watson's porch and looking under it. The Watsons are elderly sisters who live together and would never notice or hear them. Under the Watson's porch is spacious and private --- the perfect place for a secret hideout! Tommy proposes that they use the space to hold a special magic camp for all the neighborhood kids on Sunday mornings. Ellie agrees to help, and thinks that she may always go along with Tommy's plans: "There's something about Tommy Bowers that makes me want to say yes to everything he asks. He could ask me to run away from home with him or skip school or take a nap in my parents' bed, which even I'm not allowed to do. And I'd probably say yes. I'm thinking this could be the rule to our friendship from now on."

Ellie's parents are not happy about their daughter hanging out with a troublesome boy. Despite their concern, Ellie finds herself completely smitten with Tommy. She has a crush on him that is very different from her other crushes: "This is something else. I feel as if I've swallowed a space capsule and I'm launched in a flash of light, my stomach full of Day-Glo or sequins or something sparkling inside."

When Tommy gets in trouble again --- this time involving Ellie --- it's up to him to prove to both Ellie's parents and his own that he can change his ways.

UNDER THE WATSON'S PORCH is a tender story about an important relationship in a young girl's life. Author Susan Shreve does a nice job of telling a simple story with a lot of heart. Shreve masterfully develops the characters of the young Ellie and Tommy. Tommy is very similar to James Dean. Although he's charming, he gets into trouble. Ellie is overwhelmed with feelings and doesn't know what to do with them. UNDER THE WATSON'S PORCH is an enjoyable read that will leave you thinking about why people do what they do and how they can change for the better.

   --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson (zooey24@yahoo.com)

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