A unanimous American Library Association
Best Book of 1987

Named as one of the Best of the Best: the 100 Best YA Books  of the Last 25 Years by the Young Adult Library Services Division of the American Library Association

A New York Public Library Best Book for the Teenage

A Booklist Editors' Choice Book

School Library Journal starred review

Outstanding Achievement Honors from the
Wisconsin  Library Association

A South Dakota YA Reading Program Best Book

A Michigan Best YA Book Award nominee

Nevada Young Readers Award nominee

A Virginia Young Readers Program Best Book

Booklist starred review 

Named to 150 Books: A Sesquicentennial
Collection of Books of Wisconsin from the
Polk Library, UW--Oshkosh

Recommended on Booklists for Kids, a web site maintained  by the Lake Oswego Public Library, Lake Oswego, OR

Listed in Best Books for Junior High Readers,
published by  R. R. Bowker Co.

Listed in What Do Young Adults Read Next
from Gale Research 

Listed in All-Star Books for Young Adults, a web site from the Mount Prospect Public Library,
Mount Prospect, IL 

Recommended in Panache Post, the home page of the Farmington Public Library, Farmington, MI

FROM THE BOOK JACKET:

Carl knows he's living on the edge. His mother parties a little too hard. Carl himself is in on a sweet little stolen car-radio operation. If only he can stash away enough money to get himself out of here and get a new life, a decent life. The Plan falls through when his mother is arrested and forced to clean herself up. Where does that leave Carl? Up in the country, with his clean-living and straight-laced relatives, relatives he doesn't know, relatives he doesn't want to know. Now all Carl wants to do is run away. But it's not so easy anymore. Because how can you run away from people who really care?

"A sure-handed treatment of an adolescent male's interior life, fears and triumphs. Bravo!"--ALAN Review

"Pungent characterizations [and] tough-minded plotting and narration make it a powerful story, memorably told."--Kirkus Review
   
Customer Reviews from Amazon.com:

POWERFUL!, August 16, 2001 
        Reviewer: adam from Illinois
        I used to not like books this book changed my mind! A must read. Very touching and a great wake up call to life!
 

Amazing!, December 2, 2000 
        Reviewer: A reader from San Jose, CA USA
        I read this book for an 8th Grade book report, and I have read it over and over again. Every time I read it I get the same feelings I had the first time I read it.
        Carl Staggers feels what a real 16 year old boy would feel if he were in that same situation and it amazes me how well the author expressed that.
 

Good book, March 29, 1999 
        Reviewer: A reader from Elkton, SD, US
        I think that this book is the best book I've ever read, and each time I read it I get the same feeling over again.

Courage from despair and hope from depression, February 24, 1999 
        Reviewer: A reader from SVSU
Up Country is the story of a young boy Carl who finds the deck stacked against him. How do you find help when your Mom is an alcoholic prostitute? Carl finds it from the most unwelcome source, his upstate relatives in hicksville! How ironic that the only way he can get there is to be caught by the police for helping his mother attack a cop, and then for operating a theft ring. Lessons from responsibility, respect, humor, and friendship are to be found with a family that really cares. The really hard choices come when he has to choose between support for himself or helping his Mom. What should any of us do? 

The author has a small number of hardcover copies available at $16.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Library sales only, please.