THE WILLOUGHBY SPIT WONDER
by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763617768
Ages 10-13
145 pages

Carter Johnston is a dreamer. He dreams of one day becoming a superhero like his favorite comic book hero, the Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner can breathe underwater, fly, and do a number of other cool things. Carter wishes he could have those powers so he could become the Boy Who Swam Across Hampton Roads. His imaginary life though is very different from the sad but true reality in which he lives.

Carter lives with his sister Minnie and her friend Sylvia on a beach called Willoughby Spit, off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. There, they enjoy playing along the seaside during their summer vacation. Carter likes to watch the planes leave the naval base and fly out to sea everyday. However, this fascination is also accompanied by fears that his family will be attacked, even though the Korean War is now over. It also brings forth the realization that his father is dying and that his life will never be the same again.

Ray Johnston is an army veteran who loves to live life to the fullest. He enjoys being with his family and sharing in Carter's obsession with comic books. Sadly, Carter discovers that his dad needs help when he overhears him in a moment of weakness. It is then that Carter decides to be a source of encouragement for his father and tries to become the Sub-Mariner by swimming across the Atlantic Ocean.

Carter is growing up and so are his friends. He learns that the world he has known is changing. From his father's illness to his sister becoming a young woman, Carter sees the differences between the past and the present, life and death. He also realizes that dreams don't always become the reality that you would like them to be. Will Carter Johnston ever be The Willoughby Spit Wonder?

THE WILLOUGHBY SPIT WONDER is a poignant story that will make you think long and hard about your dreams. Jonathon Scott Fuqua conveys to readers that if you try your best, your dreams can come true --- no matter how impossible they may be to achieve --- as well as the fact that you can indeed make a positive difference in another person's life.

   --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)

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