MOLLY AND THE MACHINE

Summer vacation 1983 is about to get a lot more exciting in Far Flung Falls, Ohio.

Ever since her mom ran off with a mullet-haired, van-driving stranger, 11-year-old Molly McQuirter’s depressed dad spends his time eating junk food and watching TV, leaving her to look after her nose-picking 8 1/2-year-old brother, Wally. Which is exactly how she doesn’t want to spend her summer. Tinkering and inventing run in her family’s blood, and when Wally won’t leave her backyard Rube Goldberg machine alone, Molly banishes him to the wide-open space of the yard, where he is spotted by a giant robot and snatched up. Hopping on her tricked-out bike, Pink Lightning, she and her four-legged friends—dog Darryl, cat Crank, and chameleon Don Carlos—set off to rescue Wally. They are soon joined by neighborhood kids Arvin and Leonard and Molly’s bootlegging, armadillo-owning, heavy metal–playing, motorcycle-riding Great-Uncle Clovis. Their adventures are filled with obstacles, but Molly brings all of her powers of invention and ingenuity to the rescue mission. The 1980s slang and pop-culture references keep readers firmly planted in the decade, and, as expected from the Cold War–era setting, fear of the Soviet Union is a recurring theme. The amusing tone and toilet humor sprinkled throughout will appeal to young readers. The characters present as White.

A delightful adventure with a nostalgic twist.