Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year, the Geoffrey Bilson Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, and an ALA Notable Books List selection
Martin O'Boy's life is not easy. His beloved Granny has just died, his pregnant mother and father fight all the time and his twin, Phil, is completely incapacitated. Martin is the one his mother counts on.
But life in Ottawa's Lowertown is not all bad. He has his best friend, Billy Batson (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), the movies, his cat Cheap and there's the glamorous Buz from next door, who is off at the war.As the war comes to an end with the bombing of Hiroshima -- on Martin's birthday -- Ottawa is in a state of turmoil. Returning soldiers, parties, fights and drunks fill the streets.
It would all be very exciting, except for one thing. In their endless pursuit of more funds Martin and Billy have joined the church choir -- as summer boys. And the organist, Mr. T.D.S. George, is awfully fond of Martin. But Martin, despite his hardships, has a pure soul and his Granny's love, Billy's friendship, Buz's imminent return, and even his mother's reliance on him, which help him to deliver a kind of justice to Mr. George, and to heal himself and others.
Martin O'Boy's life is not easy. His beloved grandmother has just died, his pregnant mother and father fight all the time, and his twin, Phil, is completely incapacitated. And yet, for Martin, life in Ottawa's Lowertown is not all bad: he has his best friend Billy Batson, the movies, his one-eared cat Cheap, and then there's Buz, his glamorous next-door neighbor, who's off at the war. As the war comes to an end with the bombing of Hiroshima, Ottawa is plunged into a state of turmoil - returning soldiers, parties, fights, and drunks fill the streets. Meanwhile, turmoil of another kind is brewing closer to home: Martin and Billy joined the church choir to earn some money, and the organist, Mr. T. D. S. George, is very interested in Martin. As the reader knows, though Martin doesn't, this interest is a very dangerous thing. But Martin has a pure soul, Billy's friendship, his cat's affection, Buz's imminent return, and his grandmother's love - all of which help him to deliver justice to Mr. George and heal himself and others.
