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Woodrow Prater and Gypsy Leemaster are cousins, but they couldn’t be more different if they shared no family connection at all. Woodrow’s mother and Gypsy’s mother are sisters; Woodrow grows up in the mountains way back in the woods with his mother and father. He has no indoor plumbing, he doesn’t go to school, and when he looks at you, you never know he’s looking at you because his eyes are crossed.
Gypsy is an only child of Love and Amos Leemaster. Gypsy’s father died when she was young, and her mother has married Porter Dotson, the editor of the town’s only newspaper. Porter is good to Gypsy, but she doesn’t like him very much. Gypsy was always dresses like a New York teen model and has long, straight hair. She’s in church every Sunday.
When Woodrow’s mother disappears early one morning, Woodrow’s father finally decides that Woodrow needs to live with his grandparents. That means that he and Gypsy will be next-door neighbors. As unlikely a pair as they are, Woodrow and Gypsy become inseparable. Although the kids at school make fun of Woodrow because of his clothes, his ways, and his crossed eyes, Woodrow soon wins them over with his ability to tell stories and his lack of interest in their teasing. As they share stories about Woodrow’s mother and life in the mountains, and about Gypsy’s father and stepfather, they become the best of friends.
This is a delightful coming-of-age story that middle readers will enjoy and read, eagerly awaiting other stories about Belle Prater’s boy and Gypsy.
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Belle Prater's Boy