cover image Bill

Bill

Chap Reaver. Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, $14.95 (216pp) ISBN 978-0-385-31175-5

Besides taking care of her dog, Bill, and doing most of the chores on their backwoods Kentucky farm, 13-year-old Jessica Gates looks after her father, who--illegally--makes and sells whiskey. The sharp-tongued, fiercely independent heroine meets her match when Officer Dudley (better known as Wrong Man) pays a series of calls, hoping to uncover Mr. Gates's still. The battle of wills and the ethical debates that erupt between Jessica and Wrong Man do not prevent the evolution of an invaluable friendship. After Jessica's father is jailed and Bill is nearly killed, the support offered by Wrong Man and his family make it easier for Jessica to bear her growing awareness of her father's alcoholism and her own victimization. Few share Reaver's ability to interweave comedy, tragedy and truth. In this posthumously published novel, he produces the same evenly pitched, impeccably paced dialogue as found in Mote and A Little Bit Dead. The voices of the characters convey universal yearnings and emotions, all of which confirm the author's ripe understanding of human nature. Ages 10-up. (May)