The Way to Schenectady

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

“You told me that there were some things that were sort of wrong and
sort of right at the same time,” Jane Peeler reminds her father by way
of explanation as to why she has allowed a tiny, smelly old derelict
named Marty Oberdorf to stow away in the back of their van, and why she,
as navigator on their family vacation trip from Toronto to
Massachusetts, is adding miles to their journey by detouring around by
Schenectady, New York, so that Marty can attend his brother’s memorial
service.

Wrong or right, the adventures of Jane, her dad, brothers Bill and
Bernie, curmudgeonly grandmother (who’s even been heard to utter mild
epithets that rhyme with “ham” and “shell”), and, of course,
Marty make The Way To Schenectady an entertaining and funny read. Even
those who have

never endured a family roadtrip will find this clever, fast-paced story
appealing! Recommended for students in late primary and junior grades.