Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An unlikely trio embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this laugh-out-loud romp by Gemeinhart (Coyote Lost and Found). Twelve-year-old Oscar has lived with his grandfather at the Sunny Days Retirement Community since Oscar's parents' deaths when he was an infant. When the community's new owner raises rent prices, though, Oscar and his grandfather must find a way to make more money or risk becoming unhoused. Then foul-mouthed retiree Jimmy offers Oscar a deal: if the youth helps him to complete his bucket list, he'll give Oscar the money he needs. Accompanied by Natasha, the 12-year-old daughter of Sunny Days' new manager, typically responsible Oscar resolves to break the rules--just this once--and agrees, only to discover that Jimmy's unfinished business involves causing all manner of trouble, including dining-and-dashing and participating in an underground poker game with convicted criminals. Gemeinhart's multilayered rendering of the mostly white-cued characters' clashing dynamics--particularly between nervous Oscar, irascible Jimmy, and brash Natasha--adds multilayered emotional depth into simultaneously heartfelt, sentimental, and chaotic plotting. Altogether, it's a joyful tale that suggests it can be okay to bend the rules in pursuit of growth and change. Ages 8--12. Agent: Pam Pho, Steven Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--Twelve-year-old Oscar Aberdeen lives with his grandpa at Sunny Days, an assisted living facility for seniors. He is the apple of the elderly residents' eyes, and he considers all of them family. Oscar has seen his share of funerals and given the eulogy on several occasions. When Sunny Days changes hands, the new owner drastically increases the monthly rents. Unless Oscar and his grandpa can find money somewhere, they will be homeless at the end of the month. A mysterious new resident named Jimmy DeLuca moves in, setting the gossip mills churning; he's "connected," the gossips whisper, a mobster! Oscar steers clear until one day, Jimmy DeLuca makes him an offer he can't refuse: help him break out of the facility and Jimmy will pay him in stacks of cash, enough to pay the rent forever. "Operation Jimmy Shimmy" is afoot; the old man and Oscar sneak out the front and almost make a clean break, but they are ambushed by pesky girl Natasha who insists on coming along. The unlikely trio: the wheezing octogenarian mobster, good kid "Boy Scout" Oscar, and nosy Natasha set off in Jimmy's 1953 Kaiser Dragon. They make several stops and run into bad guys, car thieves, floozies, mobsters, gamblers, nogoodniks, cops, and overall sketchy people. Nonstop action and fast pacing keep the story rollicking along. Gemeinhart crafts a delightful story of unlikely friendships and breaking out of one's comfort zone. Tweens will enjoy the funny vocabulary and speech patterns Oscar has picked up from being around adults who are 60+ years his senior. Main characters are cued white. VERDICT A real humdinger of a story told by master storyteller; this title will appeal to tweens seeking high-stakes, high-fun realistic fiction.--Pamela Thompson McLeod
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Against his better judgment, a 12-year-old raised in a retirement community by his grandfather helps a 104-year-old resident sneak off to take care of some unfinished business. Oscar Aberdeen has been strictly warned to steer clear of Jimmy Deluca, a new arrival with a shady past. But Pops can't afford the new rent hike, and Oscar remembers advice from the late Guadalupe Montoya, one of his many senior surrogate grandparents: "Right and wrong can get confusing sometimes…So just do the good thing." Between doing the right thing and doing the good thing, it's always better to choose the latter. So when the irascible Jimmy promises big bucks in exchange for helping him run a few unspecified errands, Oscar overcomes his scruples, leading to a dizzying round of outrageous, life-altering predicaments and exploits. It's a joy to watch Oscar learn to, at Jimmy's insistent urging, "squeeze the orange" as they go. In quick succession, the bemused lad has a variety of rousing new experiences, from stealing back a stolen car to getting punched in the face. He also gets to deploy skills that are already in his wheelhouse, like playing cutthroat poker and sensitively comforting the dying. Gemeinhart kits out his reluctant but winningly resilient protagonist with a tragic backstory that adds nuance to his buttoned-up character, and the lively supporting cast includes more than a few seedy or hostile characters but no real villains. Characters largely present white. An exuberant joyride.(Fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
