As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth

by Lynne Rae Perkins

Book Overview

Wait

The train was moving. Ry could hardly tell at first, but now he knew. It was gaining speed, and he wasn't fast enough to catch it. He had only gotten off for a minute, just to make a phone call--and now it was gone. He was in the middle of nowhere, alone.

Maybe it was the middle of nowhere, but to Ry, it felt like the beginning of something. Something that would take him in cars, planes, boats . . . over an ocean and back. Something...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061870927
• ISBN13: 9780061870927
• Release Date: April 2012
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

both light-hearted and deep

I loved this book. First of all, I adore an interesting, new premise -- and this book has that, with its protagonist being sent off to camp by his parents and ending up completely stranded in the middle of nowhere. I found all of the characters engaging. And the coolest thing of all was how the author dealt with some of the deep issues of life (in potentially life-threatening situations at times!)in such a light-hearted, flowing way that nonetheless gave full respect to the ways that life is, and how people relate to that.

An exquisite book. . .

and laugh out loud funny. Ms. Perkins sure can turn a phrase and take you on an adventure. And, in places, the beauty of her writing is astounding. A completely worthwhile read. Ry and Del will stick with you, as will your longing for a boat named the Peachy Pie.

As Good As Diving Into A Hot Fudge Sundae

The other reviewers have given good synopses of the book. It's a story where the threads of a family separate and stretch and then, satisfyingly, snap back into place...even incorporating some new threads. Love the story, love the illustrations, love the characters and, oh my, love those dogs. The language is playful and clever without being unnatural or twee. I have loved every one of Lynn Rae Perkin's books that I've read. I can't wait for the next one.

Richie's Picks: AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH

"Dear Roy,Do not come to camp. There is no camp. Camp is a concept that no longer exists in a real place or time.We are so sorry. The Summer ArchaeoTrails Program will not take place. A statistically improbable number of things have gone wrong and the camel's back is broken. Your money will be fully refunded as soon as I sell my car and remortgage my house..." By time the story begins and Ry is once again reading the letter, a statistically improbable number of things have already begun to go wrong for him, too. The train transporting him from the Midwest to the now-nonexistent summer camp in Montana had been delayed in the middle of nowhere. When he accidentally found this last letter stuffed in his backpack, read it, and tried to immediately call his grandfather from the train, there were no bars of reception on his cell phone. Hearing that the train delay was going to be at least forty minutes, he'd stepped off the train and climbed a nearby hill to try and get some reception. Now, inexplicably, the train has suddenly departed -- with all his stuff -- before he can get back down the hill to it. His phone is already very low on power and even if the charger were not on the train, there is absolutely no sight of civilization -- other than silent train tracks -- from where he is sitting. This would still not be that much of a problem (or a story) had his family not just moved to a new town where he knows nobody. This would still not be that much of a problem (or a story) had his grandfather -- who came to their new house to dog-sit and who is, just about at this moment, suffering a memory-scrambling concussion -- been available to answer the phone. This would still not be that much of a problem (or a story) had his parents -- who have headed down to the Caribbean to revitalize their marriage -- not had their cell phone stolen by a monkey. Holy smokes! How many more things can go wrong from this point forward? Damned near 350 pages worth. But this is middle school literature -- as opposed to gritty YA -- so the only rotting corpses that result from the endlessly unfolding and jaw-dropping mountain of falls, crashes, explosions, missteps, crossed or broken wires and opportunities just-missed-by-a-hair, are those of mollusks and rodents. "'Do they have an itinerary?' asked Arvin. 'Or are they just blowing in the wind, wherever love takes them, skipping over the ocean like a stone?'"'Arvin's kind of a mystic,' explained Beth." AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH by Newbery medalist Lynne Rae Perkins is a splashing, crashing, smashing ode to one young man's summer vacation gone terribly (and wonderfully) awry.