My Not-So-Great French Escape
by Cliff Burke (Author)
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
When Rylan's best friend ditches him for the cool kids, Rylan thinks a summer spent working on a French farm will be the perfect chance to reconnect. But he doesn't count on his long-lost father showing up. This funny, touching novel is perfect for fans of Gary D. Schmidt and John David Anderson.
Rylan O'Hare has been drifting apart from his best friend, Wilder, for months. Wilder's family became mega-rich when his mom invented an app that reminds people to drink water, and now he barely has time for Rylan. So when Wilder invites Rylan to join him at a summer farming program in France (all expenses paid), Rylan see it as a chance to repair the friendship. Not only that, but he'll get to learn French, milk goats, and eat lots (and lots) of cheese.
But before they take off, Rylan's mom drops a bomb: His dad (whom he hasn't spoken to since he was three) lives in France, too, and he wants to meet.
Between being swarmed by bees, pooped on by pigeons, and sprayed with goat milk, Rylan's great French escape isn't quite what he thought it would be. Even worse, Wilder ditches him for some cool French kids he meets along the way. And Rylan still can't decide whether or not he should actually meet his father.
But somewhere in all the chaos, Rylan begins to find his way, and he realizes that sometimes you have to release old expectations to discover new destinations.
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Publishers Weekly
Transporting readers to a French countryside chateau, this character-forward read from Burke (An Occasionally Happy Family) spotlights two Californian tweens heading to work on an organic farm for the summer. Though Rylan and Wilder were once lifelong best friends, they've begun to drift apart--an event that becomes more pointed after increasingly wealthy Wilder contributes to a cruel meme around Rylan's family's modest finances. Rylan nevertheless accepts an invitation from Wilder to travel to France for the summer, a trip that he hopes will repair their friendship. He also learns that his absent father, who left when Rylan was three, is suddenly seeking contact--and that he now lives in Paris. As the farm's passionate owner reveals an interest in fate and divvies the kids into two camps, Wilder falls into another group of bullies, while Rylan develops his own friendships and enjoys the daily rhythms of farmwork. Detailing French cultural details with aplomb, the protagonist's observant first-person narration captures the lingering emotional effects of turbulent relationships, the feeling of remaining "outside of the inner circle," and his gradual acceptance of his own fate. Protagonists read as white; some portrayals rely on nationalistic clichés. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV005000 - Juvenile Fiction | Boys & Men
JUV013020 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Marriage & Divorce
JUV030050 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Europe
Friendship
Farm life
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