From Publishers Weekly Three children left in the care of their alcoholic aunt shakily fend for themselves. "By writing from the children's points of view， the author achieves a riveting immediacy and a wistful sense of irony，" said PW. Ages 8-12. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 5-8-In a poor section of Baltimore， Earl， Angela， and Fat Frankie have been placed in their errant Aunt Lula's care by their father， who is working on the Eastern Shore to earn money for a house. However， Aunt Lula is more into drinking and dating than responsible mothering and Earl， 11， is left to care for his younger siblings when she takes off. Out of fear， Earl has allowed Lula's son， Wayne， to use him as an accomplice while stealing bicycles but he becomes increasingly uneasy as their forays escalate into robbing the homeless. Conly's grittiest characters are the most believable and interesting. Tough-talking， whopper-telling Angela is afraid of monsters and wets the bed. Too young to understand he's stealing， Frankie is so starved for affection that he takes a pet rabbit during one of Wayne's thefts and unwittingly sets two children from affluent and caring homes on their trail. Conly is at her best when depicting the working poor in their struggle for survival. Angela's first interaction with the tonier part of town is highly amusing， but the author's take on the upper-class children seems flat and stereotypical. The third-person narration has a revolving point of view that may confuse readers. While this novel is similar in setting and subject matter， it lacks the unity and impact of Crazy Lady (HarperCollins， 1993). Still， it is worth a read for its humorous parts and for the realistic portrayal of the way bad luck and poor choices chew on poor people and how basically decent children can be pressured into doing the wrong thing.Cindy Darling Codell， Clark Middle School， Winchester， KYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews