Outside Looking In

At fourteen, Fergy is tired of his family's life style. He's tired of living in a van with his parents, J. P. and Gussie, and his younger sister, Ooma. He's sick of peddling honey and pamphlets of his father's writings. And most of all he hates stealing things, even though J. P. says it's all right to 'reclaim' necessities from society. Fergy listens to J. P. talk about the evils of 'the system,' and gradually Fergy realizes that he no longer believes or respects his father. In fact, Fergy longs more than anything to be a part of that system!

One day, when Fergy's father steals a motor home from an elderly couple who have befriended them, Fergy knows the time has come to act. He's fed up, and he has to escape. Early one morning, with Ooma in tow, Fergy runs away. Gussie's wealthy parents live in Boston, and Fergy hopes that if he can find them, he and Ooma can have the 'regular and normal' life he longs for.

How Fergy comes to grips with his relationship with his parents and his own expectations makes a provocative, at times painful, but always absorbing story about a boy's determination to make a better life for himself.

James Lincoln Collier has written many books for children, including Give Dad My Best and Planet out of the Past. He has also contributed more than five hundred articles to the New York Times Magazine, Reader's Digest, and Boy's Life. His honors include the Kidger Prize for Teaching, the Jane Addams Peace Prize, and the Newbery Honor.