Product Description

A Summer To Remember

Fourteen-year-old Clay Lancaster has been dreaming for years of the adventure he calls The Big Wander -- a summer in the Southwest with his older brother, Mike, searching for their uncle Clay. When Mike decides to return home to Seattle and the girlfriend he left behind, Clay chooses to stay on and continue the search on his own.

Following a tip about his uncle, he heads out into the most remote canyons of the Navajo reservation, with only a burro and a dog named Curly for company. Clay loses his heart to the vast, rugged land -- and to an adventurous girl with a long, dark braid -- but finds his uncle in big trouble. Can Clay pull off a risky plan to save his uncle -- and the wild horses Uncle Clay has put his own life in jeopardy to protect?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #336873 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Set in 1962, this good-natured chronicle of a boy's summer-long search for his uncle is jam-packed with action and a heap of fortunate coincidences. After driving around the Southwest with his older brother Mike, Clay, 14, finds himself a job at a Monument Valley trading post. When a colorful prospector makes off with Mike's truck, leaving in exchange his trusty burro, Pal, Mike hightails it home. Clay, however, remains, and is duly rewarded with a snippet of news about his uncle. Encouraged, Clay packs up Pal and heads out; he happens upon the very family of Navajos that had befriended his uncle. The next stop is Utah, where Clay plunges headlong into his first romance, a jailbreak,stet comma and a noble scheme to liberate a herd of mustangs destined for the slaughterhouse. Hobbs's evident desire to educate his readers often leads to didactic dialogue: "You know, there's only about twenty thousand mustangs left in the whole country. The lead mare's drinking now, then the next in rank and so on. If the stallion tries to drink before all the rest are finished, the mares will run him off." Despite a few ungainly moments, this novel has the kind of charm that just seems to come naturally when a likable kid is put into some gorgeous countryside with a bunch of wild horses. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-- Clay Lancaster, 14, has dreamed of adventures on what he calls the Big Wander (his name for a journey without planned destinations), and finds them aplenty in this coming-of-age saga. He ends up on his own in the Southwest of 1962, without parent or older brother to rule him. Clay searches for his cowboy uncle (located in a Utah jail); befriends Navajos; and acquires a mustang, a dog, and a burro. Hobbs skillfully blends action scenes (flash flood, quicksand, and wild chases) with moments of humor and insight. Clay copes admirably with a series of incidents, although coincidence and friends' actions resolve some of his problems. He shows his stuff in tracking his way through the desert and rescuing a band of wild horses; while starry-eyed about the Wild West of John Wayne, he experiences real life pleasures and relationships, including an episode of unrequited love. Hobbs makes Clay a believable character, and creates a memorable supporting cast--even a villain with a heart of gold. Frequent references to classic Westerns, J. F. K., the Bomb, and Navajo traditions could lead readers to further investigations of these topics. --Charlene Strickland, formerly at Albuquerque Public Library , NM
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...an adventure that most readers would love to experience themselves." -- ---Booklist

"Hobbs gets better with each novel!" -- --Voya

"Hobbs skillfully blends action with moments of humor and insight" -- --School Library Journal

Customer Reviews

A great way to spend time with a youngster!
The Big Wander is a humorous, thoughtful trip through the American southwest amidst the tumultuous 60's. If that era wasn't enough to fuel the author's creative palette, our hero, Clay, is euphorically approaching adolescent replete with starry eyed infatuation and an all-to-well-remembered awkwardness in his approach to young ladies. The novel sets out as an summer adventure ("The Wander") for Clay and his older brother, Mike. But, the story strays from its origins and delights the reader with its creative insight into the workings of a young teenager's imagination; too young to give up John Wayne, but well on the way to his first lovesick romance. Natural beauty, native american lore, and the love and loyalty of distant family are woven into a rewarding tale. The plot is best shared with a young reader, an excellent bedtime "chapter book" for Dad to read each night. Oh, I imagine the rigidly fixed realist may have problems with the unfolding of events that defy a likely outcome; but the child you read to (and the one kept deep inside) will receive each and every adventure Clay encounters with a smile, a giggle, and a brief reflection on life as they have known it.

Unforgettable Summer
A Review by Kyle

Mike and Clay, two brothers from Seattle, are searching for their uncle Clay. Uncle Clay was a famous all-around rodeo star who lived in northern Arizona. He has disappeared. It is up to Mike and Clay to piece together their uncle's fate, their only clue being a mysterious phone call that was so unclear, all they heard was "Restaurant Hay." Taking their life savings, and a beat up old truck they bought for $75, they head out to Arizona to spend their summer searching for their uncle.

I like how the author blends the era of 1962 with the characters and setting, influencing how they act and what they say, such as Clay mailing a letter to President Kennedy, or having a conversation about the new space program America was developing. The book plays out with the perfect blend of comedy and action, more than enough to keep you reading. The descriptions of all characters and settings are incredibly vivid, giving you a clear picture of what Monument Valley or a Navajo village looks like. The dialogue is simple and easy to understand, and the events are realistic enough that I would believe this story if it were not fiction. The only downside to reading this is that it doesn't seem long enough; I would really like to know what happens after the end.

I recommend this book to ages 10+ and to anyone who enjoys survival stories or books about the old west or the author Gary Paulsen..

This book brought back memories!
The Big Wonder took me back to a more innocent time, when me and my sister's would lie out on the cool grass in the evenings and listen to KOMA from Oklahoma City. I especially enjoyed the little bit of romance the story holds, as well as it's suprizing characters, such as Curly, the Burro, and Uncle Clay. This is certainly a book for all ages.