In A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, Joey and his sister Mary Alice are from Chicago. In the summer of 1929, their parents send them to visit their grandmother in a small town in Illinois. This becomes an annual trip all the way through 1934. During their summers at Grandma Dowdel's, they experience a reality FAR different from their life in Chicago. They, along with their grandmother, get into a ton of crazy situations. During this all, they learn how much their grandmother loves to embellish on just about everything.
I really enjoyed this book. I am from Chicago, so it was easy for me to see the huge differences between Joey and Mary Alice's life in Chicago and their summers at Grandma Dowdel's. I loved how each chapter was about a different year and a completely different experience for the characters. There was just enough connection between chapters to keep me from being confused but it was basically a different story for each summer. The last chapter tells about Joey in 1942 when he is part of the troops for World War II and passing through Grandma Dowdel's small town. It was really touching since I felt I had become close with the characters through the stories of their summers. I can clearly see why this book was a Newberry Honor Book in 1999.
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