WISH UPON A CRAWDAD

A 12-year-old tomboy experiences an unforgettable summer in this debut middle-grade novel.

Trouble finds Ruby Mae Ryan wherever she goes. With three brothers and a naturally scrappy disposition, she lets a young bobcat run wild in the house, believing it’s a sweet little kitten—a prank initiated by Ruby’s younger brother, Marty, that results in the girl’s punishment. It’s 1940, and shenanigans abound on the Ryan family farm in rural Oregon—a place that will soon have electricity thanks to Ruby’s father’s membership in a local co-op. Meanwhile, Ruby is spending the summer working on a project of her own: catching as many crawdads as possible and selling them to local restaurants and merchants in hopes of earning enough money for a surprise known only to a select few. And there are sleepovers with her best pal, Virginia Valentine, a New Orleans transplant and the daughter of a local restaurateur who has connections to a former United States president; close encounters with her ex–best friend, Mary Belle Baxter, who became a conceited bully after moving to town; and a possible crush on Paul Johnson, the new boy in school who’s just Ruby’s age. As the summer progresses, Ruby works harder and harder to catch and sell enough crawdads and locate the legendary but elusive Crawdad Haven, where the delicious seafood is plentiful. Will she reach her goal before summer’s end and electricity’s beginning? Like Ruby, Condon caught crawdads during his childhood in rural Oregon before spending almost three decades writing and editing for a magazine about electric cooperatives. His knowledge of the book’s specific environment, a character in and of itself, shows in the vivid descriptions of Ruby’s beloved home and a very illuminating afterword that includes more information on a few of the novel’s main topics. Ruby is the star of the engaging story: a hero relatable to young and older readers alike. She’s not afraid to stick up for what matters, whether that’s making lotion to soothe her mother’s red and mottled hands or dunking a local bully at the summer fun fair.

A sweet and nostalgic family tale with an appealing protagonist.