Crazy Lady!
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| Author | Jane Leslie Conly |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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1993 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Crazy Lady! is a children's novel written by Jane Leslie Conly. It was published in 1993 and was one of the Newbery Honor books of 1994.
The book is set in the Tenley Heights section of Baltimore, Maryland. Little is known about this town except for the fact that Memorial Stadium, then-home of the Baltimore Orioles, is in the neighborhood. The time period in which this story takes place is not specified, but it is set some time in the 1980s.
Young adolescent Vernon Dibbs is the book's protagonist, who also narrates the story through the use of flashbacks. At the beginning of the story, Vernon is talking to his tutor, Miss Annie, who is a former teacher that helped Vernon with his schoolwork, about how many years have passed and how they can still remember what happened.
The flashback begins with Vernon in seventh grade. He is one of five children born to a functionally illiterate factory worker and his wife, who died three years earlier while at work and left Vernon's father to raise five children by himself. Vernon is the middle child with two older siblings; his sister Steph and his brother Tony (Vernon states in the beginning that Steph has since married and moved away and Tony is away at college after graduating with a scholarship), and his two younger siblings are his brother Ben and sister Sandra. Vernon's father works the second shift at his factory. As a result, all five of his children have to pitch in to help around the house, doing tasks such as cooking dinner and washing clothes.
Vernon is a year older than the rest of his classmates, due to being held back one grade earlier in his schooling. He is in danger of being held back again, because his schoolwork is suffering and so are his grades. Vernon also does not have any resources to help him get tutoring, as his father is usually working and none of his siblings are able to take him.
Vernon spends most of his time hanging out with his friends Bobby, Chris, and Jerry, and they get their kicks by causing trouble in town and harassing Maxine Flooter, an alcoholic dubbed the "Crazy Lady" by everyone in the neighborhood. Maxine is often seen dressed eccentrically and dragging her intellectually disabled son, Ronald, around with her wherever she goes. Ronald is also a target for the boys' ridicule, which further infuriates his mother as she is his only caregiver.
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