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The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman

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The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman

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Overview

Having won 21 awards, The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman is being lauded as a classic. A haunting, visionary tale spun in the magical realist tradition of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the profoundly unique voice and heart-stirring narrative recall great works of fiction that explore the universal desire to belong.

Early 1900s, Western America. A lonely, disabled boy with a nasty temper and miraculous healing powers, Moojie is taken by his father to live at his grandfather's wilderness farm. There, Moojie meets otherworldly outcasts and wants to join them. Following a series of trials—magical and mystical—he is summoned by the call to a great destiny ... if only he can survive one last terrifying trial.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619847279
Publisher:	Gatekeeper Press
Publication date:	07/06/2017
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

ROBIN GREGORY is a wife, mother, bookworm, mystic, and lover of ladybugs. She studied Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California at Santa Cruz and Stanford Writer's Workshop. She lives in a musty old cottage on the California Coast with her husband and son, faeries, angels, and assorted wild creatures who make life interesting. Her début novel, "The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman," is being adapted for the big screen.

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Editorial Reviews

"Gregory's storytelling skills are inspired and make this mythologically-based, historical novel a delight to read. Some passages are so lovely that I found myself rereading them to more fully appreciate the masterful blending of sound, sense and meaning."--JACK MAGNUS, Reader's Favorite (5 Stars) "Wow! Wonderful lyricism and magical reality. Captivating."--LISA ROJANY, author, editor "Robin Gregory's writing is both mythical and mystical, carrying the reader along the edges of reality. Moojie's tale is gripping and I couldn't put it down." --VERONICA ENTWISTLE, BBS Radio

From the Publisher

01/01/2016
Gr 6–9—Abandoned as a baby with only his name, Moojie is unwanted in his frontier town because of his disabilities. However, when he starts befriending a group of Hostiles, a wider world of magic is opened up to him. This title seems to be striving for lyricism in prose but instead comes off stilted and slow. Characters are flatly drawn, and Moojie, the protagonist, is no exception. His actions, emotions, and motivations are poorly drawn and seem to come from nowhere. His disabilities come and go from prominence as suits the writer, and, apparently, all he need do is work harder and he will be able to do things that were previously physically impossible. This is an offensive depiction of an ill-defined series of impairments but not as off-putting as the Orientalist hodgepodge that is the culture of the Hostiles that Moojie befriends. The mystical Native American, given magical power by his connection to the past and the earth, is a problematic trope that is reinforced, rather than upturned, here. Beyond these problems, the book moves slowly, and it is hard to care about where it is going even when it gets there. VERDICT Not recommended.—L. Lee Butler, Hart Middle School, Washington, DC

School Library Journal

★ 2015-10-09
In this YA coming-of-age novel, a disabled boy goes to live on his grandfather's farm, meets a mysterious clan, and discovers special powers. All Moojie wants to do is belong, but he never seems to fit in. Discovered as a foundling in a small California coastal town in 1892—with the name "Moojie" scrawled on his forehead—he's adopted by the Littlemans. As a very small child, he can make objects fly using only his mind, among other unusual abilities. But he "didn't talk or walk when he should have," and "his left arm seemed only half-awake"; he needs crutches and leg braces as well, which disappoints his Papa. Moojie grows up lonely with only one friend: a deaf cat named Phineas. His warm, loving Mamma dies when he's 8, and Papa takes the boy and his cat to his father Pappy's place, St. Isidore's Fainting Goat Dairy in the Valley of Sorrows. Although he's warned against Hostiles in the surrounding wilderness, Moojie—now a teenager—glimpses a barefoot girl stealing eggs, and he's determined to know more: "He ached for friendship, to be a valued member of something. That girl couldn't have been alone." He seeks out her clan; they come from far away, speak in riddles, address Moojie as "my lord," and have much to teach him. He falls for Babylonia, the beautiful egg-stealer, and discovers within himself the ability to heal animals and people—but when trouble brews on several fronts, Moojie faces a difficult choice. Gregory's debut novel weaves together familiar elements, such as an outcast with special powers, in unexpected ways. Moojie is endearing and sympathetic but never infantilized because of his disability. Despite the book's many serious themes, which Gregory handles well, it also has a light touch. The author's verbal playfulness adds to the book's fun, as when an aunt swallows Moojie "in a pentamorous hug, her body all tentacles and suction." The book's mysticism is lucidly presented, and its magical realism is effective, moving, and heartening. A lively, original take on a story of a boy with more limits—and more magic—than most.

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