The Great Brain Reforms
No. 5 in The Great Brain series
by John D. Fitzgerald
illustrated by Mercer Mayer
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Bantam Doubleday Dell (New York): 1973. Trade paperback: 165 pages. ISBN-10: 0-440-44841-7 Suggested retail price: $4.50 (US) Tags: boys; frontier; jury trials; rafts; Utah; Youth Tactical strength: [6/10] |
Compare prices on The Great Brain Reforms by John D. Fitzgerald at Book Cost
Tom Fitzgerald, a.k.a. The Great Brain, returns to Adenville, Utah, for summer vacation, and he gets right back into swindling kids out of their prized possessions and their money. Through various tricks and swindles, Tom acquires prized possessions from his brothers. From John he gets a basketball and backstop and from Sweyn a fly rod and reel. He also swindles the neighborhood kids out of a baseball, an air rifle, and quite a bit of cash. Tom also builds a raft and charges admission to run kids down the river. When the river water turns muddy, John warns Tom about a possible flood, but Tom refuses to cancel the raft trip. The flood waters engulf the raft, and Tom barely manages to hold on to his passengers. After nearly killing the boys on the raft, John decides to hold a mock trial for Tom. Tom comes to realize that all the kids in town hate him, and he promises to reform.
Fitzgerald's text reads easily, and he paints a detailed portrait of life in rural Utah in the late 1800s. In The Great Brain Reforms, he describes the town's Fourth of July preparations, and you get a sense of community rarely found in today's towns. Fitzgerald also captures the essence of growing up as a boy and the complex relationships with parents, peers, and siblings. The endearing setting and his apt portrayal of boyhood make this and the rest Great Brain series a pleasure to read. Strangely, it appears Bantam has allowed all but the first three Great Brain books to go out of print, so check your library or Amazon for copies of this title and the rest of the series.
