Synopses & Reviews
Evangeline hates living in the dingy Florida motel with the pink Cadillac butt sticking out of the wall. With Pa absorbed in his drinking, she spends her days wishing that her mother was still alive to make the motel a real home. Then Evangeline meets Farrell, the one person who understands her. After a teacher threatens to expose their poor living conditions, the two friends decide to run away. But when Evangeline stumbles across her mother's letters, she finds the courage she needs to seek her true home. This uniquely touching novel will inspire readers of all ages.
Synopsis
This striking debut novel--and winner of Dutton's first Ann Durrell Fiction Contest--is the story of a young girl who lives with her alcoholic father in a dingy Florida motel and wishes her mother were alive to make the motel a real home.
Synopsis
Evangeline hates living in the dingy Florida motel with the pink Cadillac butt sticking out of the wall. With Pa absorbed in his drinking, she spends her days wishing that her mother was still alive to make the motel a real home. Then Evangeline meets Farrell, the one person who understands her. After a teacher threatens to expose their poor living conditions, the two friends decide to run away. But when Evangeline stumbles across her mother's letters, she finds the courage she needs to seek her true home. This uniquely touching novel will inspire readers of all ages.
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 The Grand Prize was awarded to Michele Ivy Davis for the best unpublished novel aimed at readers 8-14 years old.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.