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A review by tcbueti
What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb
5.0
Loved this! 11-year-old Mo loves living on her dead end street. She knows all about all her neighbors. She loves exploring the wooded ravine past the end of the street. And even though she misses her mom, who was killed a few years before, she and her dad and her pesky little sister have worked things out, she thinks. They're a team. Every summer Mo's best friend, Mercedes comes to stay on Fox Street with her grandma, Da. But Da's health is failing, and Mercede's parents want her to come live with them.
And Mo's dad is not really happy--he hates his job with the water dept, hates leaving the girls alone so much, and dreams of opening a neighborhood, family type restaurant/bar. When a developer makes him an offer, Mo is frightened that he'll take it and ruin everything. She hasn't even ever seen a fox in the ravine. How can she leave Fox Street without ever seeing a fox?
But change is threatening, and Mo begins to wonder whether she really knows all about her neighbors. Grouchy Mrs. Steinbott is acting very strangely, and seems to be obsessed with Mercedes.
I loved the feel of the neighborhood, and especially the description of her relationship with her dad and with Mercedes, which goes through some really stressful times. And I LOVED not knowing how this was going to end--would he sell or not? Would she have to move or not? Who was really looking out for Dottie, her little sister? I really cared about these people.
It's unusual for a kids book with such a seemingly light tone to grapple with subjects like death, loss, and (even more unusual) the choices that adults have to make--"necessary evils" as her dad says.
And Mo's dad is not really happy--he hates his job with the water dept, hates leaving the girls alone so much, and dreams of opening a neighborhood, family type restaurant/bar. When a developer makes him an offer, Mo is frightened that he'll take it and ruin everything. She hasn't even ever seen a fox in the ravine. How can she leave Fox Street without ever seeing a fox?
But change is threatening, and Mo begins to wonder whether she really knows all about her neighbors. Grouchy Mrs. Steinbott is acting very strangely, and seems to be obsessed with Mercedes.
I loved the feel of the neighborhood, and especially the description of her relationship with her dad and with Mercedes, which goes through some really stressful times. And I LOVED not knowing how this was going to end--would he sell or not? Would she have to move or not? Who was really looking out for Dottie, her little sister? I really cared about these people.
It's unusual for a kids book with such a seemingly light tone to grapple with subjects like death, loss, and (even more unusual) the choices that adults have to make--"necessary evils" as her dad says.