Macaroni Boy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780440418849)

During the Great Depression, a boy who faces bullying stumbles upon a mystery and comes of age in this novel that integrates fact and opinion and has a rich 1930's vocabulary. Extra material: An Author's Note is included in the back of the book.

Mike Costa has lived his whole life in The Strip, Pittsburgh's warehouse and factory district. His father's large Italian family runs a food wholesale business, and Mike is used to the sounds and smells of men working all night to unload the trains that feed the city. But it's 1933, and the Depression is bringing tough times to everyone. Money problems only add to Mike's worries about his beloved grandfather, who is getting forgetful and confused.
Mike is being tormented at school by a loud-mouth named Andy Simms, who calls Mike "Macaroni Boy." But when dead rats start appearing in the streets, that name changes to "Rat Boy." Around the same time Mike notices that his grandfather is also physically sick. Can whatever is killing the rats be hurting Mike's grandfather? It's a mystery Mike urgently needs to solve in this atmospheric, fast-paced story filled with vibrant period detail.

Author: Katherine Ayres
ISBN-10: 0440418844
ISBN-13: 9780440418849
Publisher: Yearling Books
Language: English
Published: 07/13/2004
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.29lbs
Size: 7.62h x 5.16w x 0.51d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.7
Point Value: 6
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 69015 / Macaroni Boy