Safe As Houses

Safe As Houses (Random House)

Hazel recommended this slim, easy reading book by Eric Walters recently. Walters is a favourite of my boys' so it wasn't a tough sell. And Hazel told me she herself read the book in one sitting and was charmed.

Here is the problem though...the protagonist is a girl. A thirteen year old girl named Elizabeth. And the date is october 15th, 1954. Which means Elizabeth makes fleeting references to the dreaminess of Elvis and harbours a secret crush for a boy in her grade. Topics which make the boys universally frown and say things like 'Seriously Mom...we're reading this?'

I was worried, I'll be honest.

I myself loved the book. Gobbled up the simple language and perfect attention to period detail. I loved Elizabeth's mild ranting about having to babysit her little charges, Suzie and the rotten David after school every day. I remembered babysitting awful little children and wishing desperately I'd just said no to the money and gone home, especially on a soggy night like the one Elizabeth is having.

And that, right there, was this book's saving grace for my boys. Hurricane Hazel is sweeping through the story. She has trapped Suzie and David's parents in Toronto, leaving Elizabeth to care for them through the night. And Hurricane Hazel has trapped Elizabeth and her charges on Raymore Drive, a street that will virtually be wiped out by the storm....

The boys ended up loving this book. Full of action and a little bit of horror (WARNING: not for younger children. Some pretty frightening scenes), they were engrossed. Eric Walters does it again...even with a girl as his narrator. The boys managed to forgive him.