Chris Dombrowski is the author of The River You Touch: Making a Life on Moving Water . He is also...
Parents Wanted
Andy Fleck doesn’t have much of a family. His dad has been in jail since Andy was ten and his mother gave him up to the state as “too hard to handle.”
A kid with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Andy has learned one set of rules from his birth dad (how not to get caught) and another from the kids at the state-run home (how to manipulate adults). Placed with adoptive parents Jeff and Laurie, he has a chance to escape his past. But he can’t keep himself from challenging every limit that is set. He plays “mailbox baseball” with Jeff’s Ted Williams bat, eats worms, gets in trouble at school, and, when his birth dad shows up looking for money, steals Jeff’s wallet.
Despite his antics, it’s easy to see that Andy is a good kid dealing with his own tangle of emotions. And so far his adoptive parents have refused to give up on him. But will he go too far?
ISBN:
9781571316332 Publish Date:
09/09/2001
Pages:
264
Size:
5.25 × 8 × 0.75 in
Weight:
10.7 oz
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Praise and Prizes
“Heartwarming . . . It will win the hearts of young readers.”
Tampa Tribune
“George Harrar has created a unique, memorable, and very believable character with whom young readers can identify, and from whom adoptive parents may learn a great deal.”
National Adoption Center in Philadelphia
“A killer read . . . The genius of this tale, which sandwiches wonderfully observed comic moments between scenes that are both heart-wrenching and suspenseful, is that the reader sees exactly how obnoxious and exasperating Andy is, yet roots for him with his or her entire being.”
Kirkus
“George Harrar has authentically portrayed a young teenage boy, dealing not only with the pressures of adolescence and ADD, but also with the challenges of fitting into his adoptive family. The plot of this piece of realistic fiction is well developed and well paced. Andy’s shifting emotions are revealed in a poignant, but natural manner, and despite his problems, he is an extremely likeable character.”
Iowa Reading Journal
“George Harrar creates a balance of tenderness, humor and dramatic tension in this convincing portrayal of an ADD foster child adjusting to a new family. . . . Readers will sympathize with both Andy and his adoptive parents as they seek and eventually find mutual trust and love.”
Publishers Weekly
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