Good-bye, Billy Radish - Hardcover

Gloria Skurzynski is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including Virtual War, The Clones, and The Revolt. Her books have won numerous awards, among them the Christopher Award, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, the Golden Kite Award, and the Science Book Award from the American Institute of Physics. She lives with her husband, Ed, in Boise, Idaho. You can visit her website at gloriabooks.com.

Grade 5-7-- A steep wooden stairway descends from one Pittsburgh street to another, and, at its foot, two boys meet for the first time, bridging a gap of language and culture to extend the hand of friendship. With all the innocent arrogance of the second-generation American, Hank Kerner dubs Ukrainian Bazyli Radichevich ``Billy Radish,'' and Billy Radish he remains, to all but his family, until the end. Older and bigger than Hank, the boy has already graduated to long pants, will soon show an interest in girls, and looks forward to his 14th birthday when he can leave school and take a man's job (7 days a week, 12 hours a day) in the mill. Despite their differences, the boys show their friendship in myriad ways, both touching and true, in a coming-of-age story made poignant by the fact that Billy won't live to come of age. Steel mill accidents and the war take their toll on the boys' world, but it's the Spanish influenza that strikes tragically and without warning. Given the book's title, readers will have adequate preparation for its outcome and will grieve as deeply as Hank for the lost promise of Billy's life. In this story permeated with the realities of life in World War I Pittsburgh, characters, time, and place spring vividly to life from the very first pages. And scene after scene--from the boys' first meeting to Hank's final feverish farewell--will remain etched in readers' memory through the unfolding of this richly textured, lovingly crafted historical novel. To be treasured as an involving drama and a welcome reminder of who we are and where we've been. --Marcia Hupp, Mamaro neck Public Library, NY
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