The Hole in the Wall by Lisa Rowe Fraustino is about a town suffering in the wake of uncontrolled strip mining. Those who can leave, have, creating a devastated ghost town.

Sebby (Sebastian), his twin sister and family are among the few families sticking it out. Soon, though, things start getting even weirder — eggs have turned to stone, Sebby's stomach is rock solid, his seems to be magnetized and he is seeing unusual colors. He's convinced that the strip mining is the source of all these odd events and he decides to do something about it.

Somewhere in the middle of these oddities is the titular hole in the wall and the eden like garden that's untouched by the mining or by the town. This little and magical oasis should be the main focus of the book, or at least more grounded in the over all flow of the plot (such as the hole in the wall that makes Stardust by Neil Gaiman possible). It could have also gone the direction of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Unfortunately, the hole in the wall garden gets buried in all the other strange stuff that happens to Sebby. There are too many unexplained events all screaming for attention. ( )

Eleven-year-old Sebby lives in a dilapidated house in a devastated town. A company owned by his father’s old high school chum, is strip-mining nearly the entire town, buying people’s homes that get in the way. Nearly everyone has left including Sebby’s older brother Jed who took off one day without saying where he was going. Even when Jed phones, he refuses to say where he has gone or what he is doing. Then Sebby’s father disappears after a night of heavy drinking. In addition, his mother’s chickens have all flown the coop, but to where? Amidst all of this craziness, Sebby finds the Hole in the Wall, an Eden-like oasis in the minefields. It has a cave perfect for getting away from his bickering family. Oddly, the cave flashes colors that are visible only with a pair of Mr. Odum’s old glasses Sebby “found” while looking through the man’s old shed. Sebby thinks the strip-mining is the culprit that is causing all the awful and strange occurrences happening to the town and his family. With his twin sister’s help, Sebby goes on an adventure he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.

The Hole in the Wall is one of those strange stories that feels like it could really happen. There is the bad guy who is spoiling the earth in this town and the people who are being harmed, but do not realize it or refuse to believe. Then there is Sebby, one lone person who searches for the truth (though he does finally get some help from his twin sister Barbie). The family dynamics are realistic and at times gut wrenching. I really liked this story for the realism mixed in with the fantasy. I think there are two themes in the plot: man’s savaging the Earth and families coming together despite how dysfunctional they may seem. Written for the middle grades, The Hole in the Wall is slow to start but then begins to make more sense. With the initial meandering, reluctant readers will get bored, lost, confused and ditch the book. But, kids who like to read will enjoy this story.

Received from publisher. ( )

A cave with magical rocks leads indirectly to possible ecological catastrophe.

Sebby is a young teen who seems to have something like ADD, although it's never directly addressed. He also has an annoying twin sister, a missing older brother, a drunken father, and a strip mine on the neighboring property. Then things get weirder and worse.

Three stars is a bit high, but I might have been in the wrong mood for this so I'm being generous. ( )

A beautiful countryside has been spoiled due to mining. Sebby, an 11year old boy, has discovered a hidden cave in the midst of the destruction around it. The cave is his refuge from his dysfunctional family. He calls it his hole in the wall. His father is an emotionally and verbally abusive drunk, his older brother is a runaway, and his mother works long hours to earn a meager income.

Strange things begin to happen. The first indication is the chickens. The begin to act strangely and lay petrified eggs. Sebby is magnetically attached to a chick. He sees beautiful swirling colors in the rocks and water.

Something rotten is afoot and all clues point to the mining company.

This is a fantastic tale geared towards a middle grade reader. Some events are bizarre, but eventually lead to the conclusion. I felt this book had an environmentalist feel to it. It sends a strong message about taking care of the land that we live on and being responsible for messing it up. In the end it also indicates how nature will reclaim it's own. This book is full of imagination and creativity.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Milkweed Editions for making this available to download on Netgalley. That is where I obtained the copy that I read. ( )

FIRST SENTENCE: When he got the idea that would change his life, he was lying on his back in the cave near his home.

Eleven-year-old Sebby (Sebastian) has a fertile imagination and a lot of problems. His older brother Jeb ran away after an argument with his Pa about the damage his childhood friend Stan Odum's company has done to their community with his strip-mining; his Pa, who used to be nice, is now jobless and drinks; his teacher, Ms. Byron, is on his case about getting his homework completed and signed, and now his mother's chickens are laying what seem like petrified eggs.

In Kokadjo Gore, Sebby's family, including Grum (his grandmother) and his twin sister Barbara (Barbie), are one of the only families that haven't sold their property to Stan Odum, owner of Odum's Research. Although Pa and Stan were friends in childhood, Pa wasn't able to get a maintenance job at Stan's company, and now he pretty much drinks, cusses, snores, and watches television while Ma goes to work every day at the dress factory in nearby Exton. Even so, Pa remains strictly loyal to Stan, which caused a huge argument with Sebby's older brother Jed after Pa caught Jed protesting against ORC. After the argument, Jed ran away, and their only contact with him is a pre-arranged telephone signal when he lets the phone ring once and then hangs up - just to let them know he's OK.

Sebby has a secret hideout in the middle of ORC property - a cave he calls the Hole in the Wall, where the rocks sometimes flow with strange colors, and where he goes to escape chores and homework. When his mother's chickens first begin laying eggs as hard as rocks, and then disappear, Sebby and Barbie find an opening in the shack behind their house that leads to a tunnel filled with a vein of the flowing colors.

As Sebbie and Barbie investigate the mystery of the colors, a group of people, including their friend Cluster, disappear and overnight, an ORC sign is placed on their property. Seemingly dead, petrified chickens come to life when colors flow from them back to the vein of colors, and anything contaminated with the colors, including Sebby, has a strange magnetism that pulls towards the colors.

Will Sebbie and Barbie be able to find out what ORC is REALLY doing in the Gore and stop them before Pa talks Ma into selling out the property that has been in her family for generations? Or will Stan and his money win in the end?

This is an entertaining middle reader that will keep you turning pages. Written in the genuine voice of a regular kid, the perspective is spot-on, and the reader can actually hear Sebbie's voice and totally identify with him. I love a middle reader where the main character actually feels like the true-blue article, and where all of the characters are actually seen through a real kid's eyes, and not in a fashion that is suitable for an older person.

It's easy for me to see why this author has won so many awards for children's literature, and why this novel won the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature. If you're looking for the genuine article, a book that neither talks down to or is too complex for your own middle reader, filled with adventures and imagination, this is the title for you.

QUOTES (from an eGalley; may be different in finished copy):

The colors always disappeared as soon as he became aware of them and he was never able to revive the same vision. Each sighting felt like a gift and a loss at once.

Cluster called their house the Love Shack. People in town called their place Zensylvania or just "the commune". Pa called them whacked-out yippie-hippie-doo-da-dopeheads and me and Barbie to stay away from there.

Her back was hunched way more than Grum's. She had the absolute worst case of Not-Enough-Milk-When-I-Was-Your-Age Disease I'd ever seen.

Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 4 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 4.125 out of 5 stars ( )