It's only been twelve days since I last posted here on BBB, but I feel like I've been gone forever.  Taking two week-long vacations in one month will do that to a person!  It was lovely in upstate New York, though.  My family and I had a great time visiting LDS Church history sites, exploring the Finger Lakes region and getting soaked at Niagra Falls.  We stayed in a cottage at a B&B on Lake Cayuga; its lush, green lawn offered the perfect reading spot.  There's just nothing like savoring a good book (or two or three) in such a beautiful, serene setting.  Between my lazy, lakeside lounging and the 9-hour (round trip) plane ride, I managed to finish several books.  Now, I just need to review them.  I'll get to it.  Promise.

At any rate, it's good to be home.  As much as I complain about Arizona's hellish summer temperatures, I'm actually glad to be back in the dry, desert air.  I used to laugh when Arizonans said, "At least ours is a dry heat."  I thought hot was hot, didn't matter whether it was a dry heat or a humid one.  Yeah.  That was before I experienced New York's wet, sticky version.  Yikes!  If I have to endure blazing temps, I'll take them dry, thank you very much.        

Now that my vacationing is over, it's time to think about getting my kids ready for school.  They start on August 7th.  My oldest is entering high school, a fact that still boggles my mind.  Even though it's making me feel downright elderly, I'm anxious to get on with this new phase of life.  It's always good to get back into a routine, even if it does involve waking up early, dealing with homework, and taxiing my kids all over the globe for dance class, karate lessons, choir rehearsal, Cub Scouts, etc.  Reading's my stay-sane strategy so, never fear, I'll keep inhaling books and giving you my always professional, totally unbiased (ha!) opinions on what I read.

In the meantime, I'd love to know what you've been up to this summer.  Have you taken a great vacation?  Read a thrilling book?  Do tell.      

I was planning to take a break from this blog until January, but I just can't seem to do it. Maybe it's that I can't bring myself to stop reading, even for a week. Who knows, but here I am with a review of the book I just finished - Donna Jo Napoli's wonderful young adult novel, The King of Mulberry Street.

The year is 1892, and 9-year-old Dom Napoli is sleeping in a barrel on the mean streets of New York. It's not the life he imagined for himself when he stowed away on a cargo ship bound for America. Now, his homeland of Naples, Italy, is far away and he has nothing except the clothes on his back and the brand new shoes his mother gave him before secreting him on the ship. Although he knows no English, Dom knows he must do what his mother advised: he must simply survive.

But survival on the streets is no easy feat. The filthy alleys teem with homeless children willing to commit any crime to satisfy their cruel padrones. Dom knows enough to stay away from these evil overlords, but he still has to live. Other street kids advise him to steal what he needs, but Dom can't bring himself to do it. After all, what would his Nonna think if he surrendered all the principles she strove so hard to teach him? Maybe he has to hide his Jewish roots to survive, but he will not abandon them altogether.

So, Dom does what his Jewish ancestors have always done - he pulls himself up by his bootstraps (so to speak) and gets to work. First, he hunts for a job to earn money for passage back to Italy. His search leads him to Chatham Street, where he hopes to find work in a factory. When he realizes that Italian workers make less money than anyone but the Chinese, he knows a factory job will never work; he will have to use his own ingenuity to make enough money to get home. While visiting his friend Tin Pan Alley, a beggar on Wall Street, Dom hits upon a brilliant plan. He decides to buy a long sandwich in Five Points for .25, cut it into smaller pieces and sell the portions for a quarter each on Wall Street. With the help of Tin Pan Alley (the only one who speaks enough English to hawk the food) and Gaetano (Dom's friend, also from Naples), he starts his own business. The sandwich plan works like a dream, earning Dom and his friends more money than they ever dreamed possible. Their newfound wealth brings trouble as well as prosperity - suddenly, bigger boys are stalking them, eager for the coins in their pockets; Tin Pan Alley's padrone is getting suspicious; and other kids are moving in on their turf. Still, Dom is determined not only to survive, but to spread his fortune to the other street children. His generosity - or stupidity, in Gaetano's mind - earns him the nickname "The King of Mulberry Street."

Dom soon realizes, however, that even a king can't right every wrong he sees. His determination to topple the patroni system leads him to a situation that will change his life forever. Learning the truth about his mother will also force him to face truths he'd rather not see. Will these horrors cripple the boy? Will he succomb to the gritty streets and their evil padrones? And, most important, will Dom survive to return to his beloved Italy?

I enjoyed this story about the resilient Dom, who fights to stay alive without letting his humanity die. He's a boy with whom all readers can identify, and one whom all will cheer on as he battles for survival. His story moves along swiftly, with well-developed characters and vivid settings. Although Napoli hints at the darker elements of street life (i.e. prostitution and drug addiction), the references are subtle. The only truly devastating scene in the book is when Dom confronts Tin Pan Alley's padrone. Despite these dark matters, the tone of the novel is definitely hopeful. It really celebrates triumph over trial and remaining true to yourself even in the most dire situations. You'll love this story of Dom, The King of Mulberry Street.

Grade: A