A Rambler Steals Home (and My Heart)
Synopsis: Derby Christmas Clark is a rambler – she travels around the country selling Christmas trees and hot cocoa in the winter and hot dogs and sweet potato fries in the summer with her father and brother in their RV. Derby loves summertime because it means parking in one spot – a small town called Ridge Creek where she spends her days at the creak, hanging out with her best friend, watching the Rockskippers’ baseball games and getting grease stains in the food truck.
But this year, sadness plagues the small town after the death of a well-loved townsperson. Derby learns what it means to be a friend, how to help those she loves and a few secrets along the way.
Review: I loved Derby Christmas Clark a whole heck of a lot and fell in love with small town of Ridge Creek and the people who inhabit it. Derby’s voice was so clear in this story – a young girl with a huge heart who doesn’t always handle the situation the way she should (but means well all the same). She’s missing her momma (who decided that rambling wasn’t her style years ago), wants to stay rooted in one place for longer than a season and isn’t quite sure what to do with all the changes that are happening this summer. (I’d say more, but you really just have to read this for yourself!)
I loved the small town setting where everyone knows everyone else, looks after each other and is in everybody’s business. I’m not necessarily a baseball fan, but I think spending the evening at the Rockskippers baseball game with your best friend sounds like the perfect way to end the day. Plus, you can’t forget to grab a burger and milkshake after they win!
After reading this book, my best description of it turned out to be – The Sandlot meets A Snicker of Magic. It had that old-timey feel with the pure love of baseball with a young female protagonist looking to put down some roots with a cast of characters that you won’t want to leave when you close the covers. This is the perfect summer read (and would make a great family read aloud) when the crickets are chirping, the lightning bugs are flickering and you can see the stars.
Twitter Booktalk (280ish characters or less): Derby Christmas Clark wants nothing more than to plant some roots, but she’s a rambler. When Christmas and her family settle in Ridge Creek as they do every summer, things have changed. Will Christmas be able find what she’s looking for and help a friend in the process?
Title: A Rambler Steals Home
Author: Carter Higgins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
Page Number: 240 pgs.