A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

148 pages

"What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice - two city slickers from Chicago - make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town?

August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy.
August 1930: The Cowgill boys terrorizes the town, and Grandma fights back.
August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma trespass, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry - all in one day.

And there's more, as Joey and Mary Alice make seven unforgettable summer trips to Grandma's - each one funnier than the year before. Now an old man, Joe Dowdel remembers these seven summers and the 'larger than life' woman who outsmarted the law and used blackmail to help those in need." -Cover

A friend recommended this book after reading it in her book club and I'm so glad she did. It's pure joy from start to finish. Grandma Dowdel is a total crack-up but she's also a woman with a big heart who goes about doing good in strange and funny ways. She's the type of grandma everyone wishes they had. This book had me smiling and laughing out loud. It also had me glad that the copy I bought on Amazon also came with the second book, A Year Down Under, more experiences with Grandma Dowdel from Mary Alice's point of view. Definitely one of my favorites this year.