| Michael deGuzman | ...in his own words... |
 THE BAMBOOZLERS
Albert Rosegarden is a boy ready and waiting for an adventure to take him away from Mountain View, Idaho (where there are no mountains in view)--and he gets what he wants when Wendell shows up, the grandfather Albert didn't know he had. Wendell is an old ex-con of mixed ancestry who carries a violin case he calls the Stradivarius. Albert's mother and Wendell have been estranged for years, and she orders him to leave immediately. But Albert talks her into letting his grandfather spend the night. Which is the beginning of the adventure Albert yearned for--an adventure that takes him and Wendell and a three-legged dog to Seattle, where they are going to pull off the perfect con--the conning of a con man.
The author's irrepressible and inventive third novel is about love and the passing of wisdom; as Wendell puts it when he and Albert first see Seattle, "This is going to be the most fun you've ever had." --Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005 Ages: 9-12 READ MORE or ORDER
Twelve-year-old Beekman O'Day has spent his entire life moving from place to place with his wheeler-dealer father, Leo. They've lived everywhere in Manhattan, from hotels to apartments to rented rooms, and Beekman has attended nine schools. Now Beekman is in a new home and about to enter school, ready to go through the motions of meeting new kids and teachers. He knows that this lifestyle has got to go; that it's time to make a deal with Leo and put an end to their pick-up-and-go shenanigans. And with a little help from the neighbors and his first best friend, Beekman is going to do all it takes to make his big deal happen.
This sly and wise second novel charts the course of a young man who is discovering how to go somewhere new by standing his ground and staying in place.
Twelve-year-old Sidney T. Mellon has an unfortunate name considering that his head is round and much too large for his body, his red hair stands straight up in a long crew cut, and his expression is perpetually flushed. A cantaloupe is what usually comes to mind. So does the nickname Melonhead.
What chance does Sidney have, looking like this, yo-yoing back and forth between Seattle and Los Angeles, living part of each year with each of his divorced parents? He is disconnected from both distracted parents; he is disconnected from his own distracted self. No wonder he gets on a bus in Los Angeles one day and heads for New York City, making up ridiculous names and stories about himself at the drop of a hat whenever he meets somebody new. But each of the people Sidney meets on his diesel-powered journey across America contributes something to his understanding of who he is and where he's going. What he will do when he gets there, what he will discover about the unhappiness in his life, he has no idea. He just knows that he has to find out.
|
 When I was a kid I made up stories and went door-to-door selling recitations for a nickel. I found out it's a tough way to make a living. I did it anyway, including a twenty year stint writing television movies. One of them, an adaptation of E.L. Konigsburg's FATHER'S ARCANE DAUGHTER (the film was called 'Caroline?'), convinced me I was writing for the wrong crowd. I discovered that I saw and felt the world most clearly through the heart and mind of the twelve year old inside me. I decided to write for people my own age. When I turned sixty I started writing novels about twelve year old boys.
MELONHEAD was first. It's about Sidney T. Mellon, Junior, who has an extremely large head and a lot of family problems to go with it. I gave him a big head because it's something he couldn't hide. He'd be forced to deal with it. We all have something, but for most of us it's buried where others can't see it. I kind of stacked the deck against Sidney, to see what he'd do. He ends up traveling across the country by himself on a bus in search of a life that works. BEEKMAN'S BIG DEAL is about Beekman O'Day and his father, Leo, who makes his living making dubious deals. Beekman has spent all twelve of his years with Leo on the island of Manhattan. They've resided in apartments, hotels and rented rooms; fourteen different places in all. Beekman's been to nine schools. When a couple of Leo's deals land them in a mews house at Nutting Court and him at Chance Academy, Beekman sees his opportunity to stay put. He makes a deal with Leo. A big deal. No more moving. No more new schools. When Leo can't keep his end of it, Beekman makes his stand. When I was growing up I became aware of the difference between the world the way it was and the way I wanted it to be. I still see injustices to fight. There are still windmills to be tilted at. I believe that unexpected people show up at unexpected moments to hold out a hand. Beekman encounters such people. All the boys in my stories do. I write about what matters to me because it's all I know to write about. I have to hope that it matters to the people I write for. I have to hope that my best work is good enough. That's the struggle. And the reward. The inspiration for BEEKMAN'S BIG DEAL was the life I lived with my father for a time in New York City. The book is dedicated to him. For many reasons. He told me to read every day if I wanted to be a writer. He wrote himself and set the standard. I didn't want my own life to pass without trying to honor his. My father and I are not Leo and Beekman. Not in the details. It's a matter of feelings, you see.
This is a fast-paced adventure about a runaway kid figuring out not just what he’s searching for but also what he has to say.
|
BEEKMAN'S BIG DEAL
MELONHEAD
Newboy hasn’t spoken in three years. One morning he opened his mouth and nothing came out. He doesn’t know why he stopped talking, but what he does know is that he’s through with the state child-care system. In twelve years he’s lived in eleven foster homes, and the Knoxes are the worst of the bunch. Now, with no voice, no family, and no exact plan, Newboy is running away for good. Living on the streets means danger and excitement around every corner, but the one thing Newboy never expected to find is a companion in the form of an old ventriloquist dummy lying in a Dumpster – a puppet with no hands, backward feet, and a chunk of its nose missing. Amazingly, this beat-up doll whom he dubs “Stinko” possesses a kind of magic that helps Newboy rediscover his ability to communicate.