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Saucy and Bubba: A Hansel and Gretel Tale

written by Darcy Pattison

Mims House       1/20/2014

978-1-62944-009-5

Age 8 to 14

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“In this modern-day Hansel and Gretel story, Saucy and Bubba struggle to get along with Krissy, their alcoholic stepmother. One freezing night, Krissy locks Saucy out of the house and Saucy must sleep in the barn. In a desperate move, Saucy and Bubba run away to their aunt’s house—except Aunt Vivian isn’t home. Trying to take care of Bubba for several days forces Saucy to take charge of her own life and accept a terrible sacrifice in order to find safety for herself. This is the simple story that weaves through the tangled threads of family and

Opening

“Saucy Dillard loved gingerbread days.”

Review

Since Saucy and Bubba’s mother died, daddy has been very lonely. He hired Krissy to babysit the two kids, and then fell for the young alcoholic woman. Daddy married her and has been googoly-eyed for her ever since. Stepmom gets away with her actions because her hubby is in denial of the problem, preferring to blame his oldest child. That is more than enough to topple any eleven-year-old girl. Add acting as Bubba’s guardian—self-appointed—in charge of his happiness in addition to his safety, and the recipe for disaster more than doubles.

Saucy and Bubba would make a good story for social work students. It covers the same ground without the dryness of an adjunct text. In addition to alcoholism, the story involves child abuse and neglect, a mean stepparent, an absentee father, and runaway children. Pattison also throws in a possible pedophile, just in case there is not enough social angst. The pedophile is nothing more than bait, used to unite Krissy and Saucy in battle. I was surprised Saucy told Krissy the problem, given her justified fear of the woman, but the two make an insurmountable team—possibly because they are so similar—while rescuing Bubba from danger.

Saucy and Bubba is a dysfunctional family drama. The father, who I think is the biggest problem, is an absentee father, not because he is gone a lot as a long haul trucker, but because he overlooks most all of what his new bride does to his children, preferring to blame the eldest child instead of the real problem, his wife. In regards to Krissy leaving the kids on an outing (to get gas), going to a bar (getting drunk and driving home) and never picking them up (they walked home in the cold and dark), he says to his oldest, eleven-year-old Saucy,

“Krissy isn’t the problem. You are. Next time, you stay put.”

The best part of the story is during the runaway. All that before then is set-up. The kids have such a long way to go they must take a greyhound and then walk several miles. Bubba is but seven-years-old, naïve, and trusting. He nearly becomes the victim of the same pedophile, twice, all for the want of a cookie. He is also a genius with numbers. The two run into a few colorful characters, like the young teen working the bus station soda counter. He advises Saucy to take care of herself first before trying to care for another. In the end, he is spot on and that is exactly what Saucy must do to save her entire family. The ending did surprise me, but it is a great solution and the best for Saucy. If only all family problems could be solved so easily.

How is this A Hansel and Gretel Tale? Pattison uses several elements from the original story. Krissy is the wicked stepmother—and the evil gingerbread witch. Bubba is Hansel, using white stone as markers to follow home. Just as in Hansel and Gretel, the father abandons his kids, but instead of leaving them in the woods, he ignores the problems and leaves the kids with the cause.

Middle grade and older kids who like family dramas will enjoy Saucy and Bubba. There is enough angst to sell the story and enough heart to keep the reader interested in what becomes of the two kids. I still do not understand why Pattison had Saucy run and hide near the end, after she was so close to everything she worked for, but it did add one more element of suspense and force the father to open his eyes, maybe for the first time since marrying Krissy. Oh, well, there’s the reason. Pattison is a formidable writer whose work has been translated into numerous languages. Saucy and Bubba is another winner in a long line of winning stories.

SAUCY AND BUBBA. Text copyright © 2014 by Darcy Pattison. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Mims House, LITTLE Rock, AR.

Purchase Saucy and Bubba:  A Hansel and Gretel Tale at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Mims House—your favorite bookstore.

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Learn more about Saucy and Bubba:  A Hansel and Gretel Tale  HERE.

Meet the author, Darcy Pattison, at her website:    http://www.darcypattison.com/

Find other Pattison books at the Mims House website:   http://mimshouse.com/

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New in 2014 by Darcy Pattison

Aliens, Inc. Book 1: Kell, the Alien

Aliens Inc. Book 2: Kell and the Horse Apple Parade

Aliens Inc. Book 3: Kell and the Giants

VAGABONDS

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Also by Darcy Pattison, Click Title for Review

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

Desert Baths

Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub

11Ways to Ruin a Photograph

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copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

4 stars
Shut Up
Anne Tibbets
Premier Digital Publishing
978-1-9379-5736-0
No. of Pgs.: 110  Ages: 9 to 13*
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Back Cover: Mary’s older sister, Gwen, has royally screwed up her life.  Not only is Gwen pregnant at seventeen, she’s also decided to marry The Creep who knocked her up. Now Mary is powerless to stop her family from imploding.  Her parents are freaking out royally, and to top it off The Creep has a gross fascination with Mary while Gwen enjoys teasing her for sport.

Despite her brother’s advice to shut up, Mary can’t keep her trapped closed and manages to piss off Mom so much it comes to blows.  Mary doesn’t know what to do, and all her attempts to get help are rejected.  When she finally plans her escape, she fails to consider how it could destroy them all.

Twelve-year-old Mary is the classic middle child.  She tends to blend in and receives too little positive attention.  Her older sister is nasty to the entire family, but more so toward Mary, who she seems to enjoy teasing.  When Gwen becomes pregnant, losing her friends and status during her senior year, her behavior intensifies.   Marrying a guy who is a loser and treats her badly, gropes after her younger sister, and disrespects her parents as much as she does, has not helped anyone.  The entire family becomes singularly focused on Gwen’s situation, Gwen’s behavior, Gwen’s tantrums.

Mary and her brother Paul, are the only two with a somewhat clear picture of the family dynamics.  Nonetheless, no one listens to anything Mary has to say about anything, let alone about Gwen, The Creep, or any problem they cause.  Instead, her words tend to get her into trouble, many times inappropriately so.  Mom has lost her grip on the family. She cannot handle Gwen so she seems to take it out on Mary, who is defenseless.  Mom is one Gwen-moment away from a nervous breakdown. She is not handling anything correctly, mostly to the detriment of her middle child—Mary.

Shut Up is supposed to be about Mary and her efforts to save her family, but the main character is either Gwen or the family as a whole.    I do not see that as a problem for the story, but it is a problem for the intended reader: the middle grades*, kids ages eight to thirteen.  Shut Up is a difficult story to read.  It is an honest portrait of how one person can run amok, causing all sorts of trouble for the other members of the family, who are often ill equipped to handle such extreme behaviors.  I would not let my middle grade child read this until they were a senior in high school.  Shut Up is emotionally draining, with minimal respites from all the problems and horrible behavior.

This is simply a difficult book to read and I cannot see many middle grade kids enjoying this, much less being ready to read it.  None of the subject matter will be unfamiliar to kids, but the constant barrage of negatives is depressing.  The main character, Mary, is more of a punching bag not only for her sister Gwen but for Mom as well.  Mom tends to blame Mary even when she is blameless.  Her punishments are excessive and often mean spirited.

Having said all this, I did enjoy Shut Up.  Any adult interested in family dynamics and how they can be disruptive to the point of destruction, should read this story.  The author does not intensify the drama gratuitously. She has written a gut-wrenchingly real story.  So much so, that I wonder whose story Shut Up really is—Mary’s or someone real.  To be able to write something so authentic without some kind of personal experience would be difficult.  Difficult is the operative word.  I think Shut Up is something most middle graders are not ready to read.  The subject matter is intense, unrelenting, and depressing.

Read an Except HERE.

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Shut Up

Author:  Anne Tibbets   website
Publisher:  Premier Digital Publishing   website
Release Date: February 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-9379-5736-0
Number of Pages: 110
Ages: intended for 8 to 13*

GoodReads lists as young adult