Jerry's Magic

Rowe, a former college professor and author of literary criticism, turns his hand to a fiction series for middle-grade readers with the story of Jerry Shore. The novel is set in the U.S. just after WWII, and Jerry and his mother are mourning his father’s death in the war. When Jerry’s mother tells him that he is now responsible for their well-being, he determines to make as much money as possible. Not all of his moneymaking schemes work out, and not all of them are honest, but along the way Jerry foils a bank robbery and meets the Wonderworker, a man who puts Jerry in touch with his own highest nature. Jerry’s life and the lives of his friends and family are changed in unexpected and wonderful ways as a result of the knowledge the Wonderworker imparts. Readers will find much to enjoy in Jerry’s humor, his resiliency, and in the way he meets challenges head on. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)