The Rambling

January 1, 2019
On an odyssey through the swamp to find his father, a boy discovers the magic of life, love, and storytelling.After accidentally setting fire to his mother's bakery, 11-year-old Buddy runs away to the swamp to be with the father he hasn't seen in five years. Pop's not only his hero, but the best Parsnit card player around. But no sooner does Buddy see Pop than his father is kidnapped by Boss Authority's henchmen for reasons revealed later in the novel. In a witty, conversational style and Southern cadence, Buddy narrates his journey to rescue Pop. While initially the setting feels like the American South, Cajoleas' lush worldbuilding reveals a multiracial community that does not seem to carry the region's racial history. In this community, Buddy meets an array of folkloric characters of varying races who heighten the swamp's spookiness. Brown-skinned Tally, one of the spider-folk, saves Buddy from eerie encounters, and he in turn helps his new friend see the beauty of her gift. Paralleling the journey are Buddy's descriptions of Parsnit. In this dueling card game, overseen by a witch, players test their Orating skill to recount the best stories. As Buddy learns Parsnit tricks, he realizes that loving a flawed parent is even trickier and that real life is more wonderful and mysterious than any story. A few characters are described as black or brown; the default is white.Vivid imagery and thought-provoking musings make this an ideal read-aloud adventure. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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March 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-Buddy Pennington is downright unlucky. He's been kicked out of school, has ruined the Potter's entire inventory, and now he's set fire to his mother's bakery. All of these were accidents, of course; he can't help that he's so unlucky, especially when his father is the luckiest man around. Buddy decides then and there to set off on a journey to find his dad and try to change his luck. As soon as they are reunited, though, some thugs sent by Boss Authority snatch Pop in the middle of the night, setting Buddy on a new adventure to find and free him. Along the way, Buddy is helped and hindered by those he meets. It seems like everyone wants to get a hold of his father's rare, magic Parsnit card deck and turn him over to Boss Authority for a reward-some even want to steal his blood. The Rambling is all action from the get-go. Buddy's journey to save his dad brings him further and further down the river into swamp country, where the magic hangs in the air like a fog and the things he used to think of as legend turn out to be true while things he thought he knew about his father are false. Buddy will have to decide whether he can forgive his father for the bad things he has done, or if he will follow his mother's example and turn his back on him. VERDICT Give this to fans of Garth Nix's Have Sword, Will Travel and Gail Carson Levine's Frogkisser or Ella Enchanted.-Sara Brunkhorst, Indian Trails Public Library District, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 25, 2019
Buddy Pennington has “durn horrible luck” despite his scoundrel daddy’s legendary good fortune. After he accidentally burns down half of his mother’s bakery on his 11th birthday, Buddy sets off to river country to track down his beloved Pop, a “wild soul” and lauded card player. Just after he arrives, a crew of baddies sent by legendary crime lord Boss Authority kidnaps his dad, leaving him with little more than a knife and his father’s Parsnit cards. A meandering river pursuit brings Buddy an unlikely friend, Tally, one of the spider-folk, and the two make their way to a magical swamp, wherein lie the Creepy, rumored to snatch babies; a human head–shaped card den; and the truth about Buddy’s parents’ past and his own rotten luck. As Buddy’s story moves toward a high-stakes duel, a riveting metanarrative details the game of Parsnit, in which players draw on bewitched decks to fashion a tale: “You Orate the story well enough and it might as well be real.” Flaws and redemption, rambling and heading home are at the heart of this colloquial swamp adventure by Carjoleas (The Good Demon), which considers the components of a real good tale all while telling one. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2019
Grades 3-6 Eleven-year-old Buddy is down on his luck, but what's new? Accidentally burning down his mother's bakery, however, seems like the perfect time to get out of town and go find his pop?a wild, charismatic man and ace Parsnit player. Unfortunately, Buddy's bad luck follows him to the swamplands where Pop lives, and no sooner are they happily reunited than some goons kidnap his father on the orders of the gangster-like Boss Authority. Without hesitation, Buddy strikes out after them, and his quest to rescue his pop becomes one fraught with danger, surprising?and sometimes hurtful?revelations, and magic-touched, high-stakes Parsnit matches. Cajoleas' (Goldeline, 2017) new novel revels in storytelling and the magic that can be born (figuratively and literally) of a story told well. Central to this is Parsnit, a competitive card game rooted in orating the best tale. Buddy's frank, distinct voice narrates, and the novel's mysterious atmosphere leads to some wonderfully creepy moments, as well as tender ones. An imaginative, lightly fantastic tale that is as empowering as it is bewitching.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)