cover image Sanctuary: 9

Sanctuary: 9

Ann E. Eskridge. Dutton Books, $13.99 (144pp) ISBN 978-0-525-65168-0

Based on a true story, this gentle first novel tells of a boy's rewarding friendship with an eccentric old woman whose ``sanctuary'' made of junk may be bulldozed in efforts to ``clean up'' the neighborhood. Fred, aka Little Man, lives with his mother in Detroit in what some might call a slum. But, as Fred says, ``a slum is some place where there's nothing good to find and nothing good to do. There's always plenty of things to do in my neighborhood.'' One such adventure includes breaking into the house of Lucy Johnson, the local outcast. Against all expectations, Fred begins to like her, and she in turn helps him understand why his father left (``Maybe in tryin' to find his purpose, your daddy started believing the bad things people say about him and just gave up''). Eskridge, the author of an award-winning movie for PBS's Wonderworks , is particularly adept at inventing playful, credible exchanges between the generations as well as between peers, and she forgoes a Hollywood-style conclusion, offering instead a subtly complex view of strong, creative and compassionate characters making the most of adverse circumstances. Ages 9-up. (May)