Evangeline Brown and the Cadillac Motel

by Michele Ivy Davis

Overview

Evangeline Brown is a feisty, eleven year old who is ashamed of living with her widowed, alcoholic father in his run-down Florida motel that has the butt end of a pink Cadillac sticking out of the office wall. She is stubbornly independent, but when Farrell, a strange boy her age suddenly appears in town, she cautiously befriends him.

Then the new teacher announces that she will make a home visit to every student in the class. Evangeline desperately tries to make her life appear normal to the teacher, but her tentative optimism turns to despair and humiliation during the visit because of her father's behavior.

When she and Farrell overhear Ms. Rose tell the school principal she is going to call Social Services about the home lives of some of her students, they are convinced she is talking about them. Feeling unloved, and afraid they both will be sent to foster homes, Eddie and Farrell decide they must take drastic action.

Ebook includes bonus alternate ending and discussion questions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623098599
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	09/08/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	140
File size:	712 KB

About the Author

Michele Ivy Davis based her novel on the atmosphere of small-town Florida where she was born and raised. "One day," she says, "while driving through an older section of town, I saw the words Cadillac and Motel at about the same time on two different signs. I was struck by the contradictory picture they presented and wondered about the people who might own a motel like that." This is her first children's book..

The Ann Durell Fiction Contest was named for former publisher of Dutton Children's Books Ann Durell, who nurtured the talents of such beloved authors as Lloyd Alexander, Judy Blume, Eleanor Cameron, Walt Morey, and William Sleator. The Grand Prize was awarded to Michele Ivy Davis for the best unpublished novel aimed at readers 8-14 years old. Evangeline Brown and the Cadillac Motel was one of hundreds of submissions that were reviewed by Dutton's editorial staff.

Editorial Reviews

Sixth-grader Eddie (short for Evangeline Dawn) Brown, narrator of this impressive first novel, lives in Paradise, Fla., a town "full of dust and dirt and rotting buildings," and her history is just as grim as the setting. Her mother is dead, her pa is alcoholic, and Eddie hates living in a run-down motel, which features "the big butt end of [a] pink Cadillac [that] looks like it's crashed partway through the cinder-block wall of the motel office." Eddie's prospects for the future begin to brighten, however, after she meets three newcomers to Paradise: Miss Rose, a teacher who recognizes Eddie's intelligence and singing talent; Angelique Starr, an exotic-looking guest at the motel; and, most importantly, Farrell Garrett, a boy who has suffered even more than Eddie. When Eddie and Farrell overhear Miss Rose planning to call Social Services about the poor living conditions of some of her students, the two decide to run away. Davis's skillful assembly of well-defined characters and her precise, concisely wrought descriptions add color to Eddie's bleak surroundings and demonstrate that love, beauty and compassion can flourish in the most unlikely places. Ages 8-up. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 4-6-Sixth-grader Evangeline Dawn Brown is embarrassed about the "butt end" of an old pink Cadillac that protrudes from a wall of her father's run-down motel as a gimmick to attract customers in Paradise, FL. Even more embarrassing is the fact that since her mother died, her father has become an alcoholic. Fortunately, a new friend, Farrell, likes basketball as much as she does, lives nearby, and shares many of her feelings since his mother is dead, too, and his father drinks with Eddie's father. The protagonist is a good student who is happy with her new teacher until the woman announces that she will visit each child's home. Eddie does her best to make a good impression during the visit, but her father is obviously drunk. Both youngsters fear intervention by social workers who might send them to foster homes, and they plan to run away together. Likable characters are developed in a satisfying, linear plot that explores the challenges of living with dysfunctional adults. Though this novel is not as multilayered as Patricia Reilly Giff's Pictures of Hollis Woods (Random, 2002), readers will find parallel relationships and action.-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Eddie (Evangeline Dawn), a tough but sensitive girl, lives with her widowed, alcoholic father at the Cadillac Motel in Paradise, Florida. She's bright, but she conceals her intelligence at school, preferring the company of her library books. When her father's layabout friend's son comes to town, Eddie and Farrell become friends, bonding together as outsiders. An eager new sixth-grade teacher works hard to bring Eddie out of her shell, but a home visit leads to fears that Miss Rose's meddling will result in the kids' seizure by the state. There's very little new in this plot, as Davis rings the changes on a formula made familiar by hundreds of children's books that have come before. While Eddie and Farrell are genuinely sympathetic characters, the narrative, which includes a failed attempt to run away and a ridiculously easy resolution (the fathers' fright at the near loss of their children and Miss Rose's intervention lead them to AA, which turns them around instantly) contains no surprises. It's a competent rendition of a time-tested story, but contains little that's fresh or new. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews