EVANGELINE BROWN AND THE CADILLAC MOTEL

Eddie (Evangeline Dawn), a tough but sensitive girl, lives with her widowed, alcoholic father at the Cadillac Motel in Paradise, Florida. She’s bright, but she conceals her intelligence at school, preferring the company of her library books. When her father’s layabout friend’s son comes to town, Eddie and Farrell become friends, bonding together as outsiders. An eager new sixth-grade teacher works hard to bring Eddie out of her shell, but a home visit leads to fears that Miss Rose’s meddling will result in the kids’ seizure by the state. There’s very little new in this plot, as Davis rings the changes on a formula made familiar by hundreds of children’s books that have come before. While Eddie and Farrell are genuinely sympathetic characters, the narrative, which includes a failed attempt to run away and a ridiculously easy resolution (the fathers’ fright at the near loss of their children and Miss Rose’s intervention lead them to AA, which turns them around instantly) contains no surprises. It’s a competent rendition of a time-tested story, but contains little that’s fresh or new. (Fiction. 8-12)