Closed for the Season

Closed for the Season, by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion, 2009), begins where many juvenile stories seem to: with the main character moving--reluctantly--into a new house. In this case, it is the narrator, Logan. In spite of the stereotypical beginning, I kept an open mind. After all, this book won the 2010 Edgar Award for Juvenile Mysteries.

It didn't disappoint.

On page three, next door neighbor Arthur Jenkins stops by--a character that is an absolute breath of fresh air. Though the story isn't told from his point of view, he is the main character--in a Gatsby sort of way. Only instead of being an enigma like Gatsby, Arthur is a dork.

That, combined with an utter sense of self-confidence, make Arthur an edearing character. I wanted to cry for him when he got picked on, beat up, and dumped, but I couldn't. His dignity and optimism made feeling sorry for him seem disrespectful.

As soon as he walks through the door, Arthur tells Logan that the home's previous owner--Myrtle Donaldson--was murdered in the basement of the home. And we're off...

Before her death, Myrtle was accused of stealing money from Magic Forest, the amusement park she worked at. Having lost boatloads of cash, the park closed, and the land was sold to real estate developer/town big shot Mr. DiSilvio. Kudzu made swift work of the fairytale-style park, and it is now falling apart.

Logan and Arthur set out to find the murderer--and the real thief. (It wasn't Myrtle, bless her heart.) Danny, the late Myrtle's grandson, plays a minor role--that of beating up Arthur--until later in the story, when he moves in with Arthur and his grandmother. Hahn did a great job of portraying Danny as an angry young man without laying the sympathy on too thick. Yes, Danny has an abusive father, and yes, Danny, in turn, makes everybody else miserable. But he is portrayed as a character capable of making choices--not as a victim.

The other characters are mainly grownups: first, there are Logans' parents. His father is an art teacher. His mother is a--oh, how would I describe her? Well, you could call her up right now and say her son needs to take piano lessons or else he'll grow up to be a blithering idiot, and she would hang up and frantically dial a piano teacher. She'll take parenting advice from anybody, including:

-Her real estate agent Rhoda.

-And Nina, a newspaper reporter from another city.

Both advise Logan's mother to forbid her son from seeing Arthur. Rhoda does this because it is important to her that children--whether her own or other people's--be popular (don't you just love people like this?) Nina's reasons are more mysterious.

Then you have Logan's grandmother--who raises him, or, I should say, provides pop to him when he comes home from doing whatever the heck he wants, and subjects him to her clown collection. Logan, fortunately, uses his independence for good--namely, solving this crime.

Then there is the late Myrtle's daughter Violet, who has married the town wife-beater, Silas (Danny's mother and father.) Minor characters include Mr. DiSilvio, who is married to Rhoda, and Silas' cousins, who range from good-hearted aspiring criminals to full-fledged punkasses.

I'm lingering on the characters in this book because they're an absolute treat. You can't make up the details Hahn has lovingly--or frustratingly--bestowed on them--or maybe you can. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Arthur is based on a real little boy. At one point, when being bullied, he defends himself with a British phrase--in a British accent--which makes his attacker think he is all the more wierd. It just seemed so real.

The setting wasn't as magical as I thought it would be, given that some of the story takes place in an old timey overgrown amusement park. But I did get a sense of the town--how it was laid out. It was modern--having a Walmart and a highway running through it, which made it realistic. The best setting description, for me, was of Rhoda's McMansion, where, after Logan is forbidden from hanging out with Arthur, he is forced to have a playdate with Rhoda's arrogant son Anthony and his boring friends. (Note to Logan's mom: Logan is too old for playdates. Let him play with Arthur, you great big snob.)

The plot gets more exciting as time goes on, culminating in a chase through the Magic Forest, and a hilarious run-in with protesters who want to save the park (and are dressed as Fairytale characters.) By the end, this was a real page turner. But the characters--especially the unforgettable Arthur--and his friendship with Logan were what made this story a winner in my book.