Adventures In Nowhere by John Ames ~ Pump Up Your Book Tour

Product Description from Amazon.com:

Before Disney and far from the palm-lined Florida beaches, ten-year-old Danny Ryan is transplanted to a tiny community on the hyacinth-choked Hillsborough River outside Tampa, a place his older sister calls Nowhere. But for Danny and his best friend, the irrepressible Alfred Bagley, whose fondest desire is to grow up to be a junk dealer, Nowhere is where adventures lurk and lure them into more trouble than they can handle. More trouble is not what Danny needs as he copes with a family that includes a father sinking into schizophrenia; two sisters, one very ill and the other ready to run away with a shady boyfriend; and a mother trying her best to hold it all together. Adventures in Nowhere paints a compelling, imaginative, and often humorous vision of a time, a place, and a way of growing up, allowing a reader to live for a while in the mind of a remarkably thoughtful and intense boy caught at the final edge of childhood.

My take on this book:

 "Adventures In Nowhere," is one of those stories that has many elements,it made me feel sad, but also  had me laughing, it was a heart wrenching story but also one that left me with hope. 

It the story of a ten year old boy dealing with a very stressful family life. Danny Ryan and his family  moved to Florida from LA in 1951. To say that the family has problems is really an understatement. Danny's father scares him, he is a schizophrenic who always seems on the verge of doing something awful. Because of the craziness Danny doesn't really like his father and tries to avoid him. If that isn't enough, his sister Ruth, is dying of Hodgkin's disease. His sister Loretta is still in high school, and while his mother loves him, she is totally overwhelmed with working and trying to take care of Ruth.

Danny spends many of his hours fishing on the Hillsbourough river, and while he doesn't catch alot, he can let his imagination run wild while sitting on the riverbank. He tries to stay out of trouble, but it seems to find him and his best friend Alfred Badgley.

This is one of those books that captures your imagination from the beginning pages and continues to hold it long after you finish reading the final page. Because the story is told from the perspective of ten year old Danny, you feel as if you are really seeing things thru his eyes. He is a strong, smart young man who keeps his sense of humor. Alfred and Danny often had me laughing. I found myself sympathizing with Danny's mother, she really had alot on her plate.

A great coming of age story with characters that you wont soon forget, a book that I highly recommend!

About the author:

John Ames has a master’s degree in English from the University of Florida, where he was a Ford Fellow. After graduation, he built a rustic house and lived for several years on the edge of a spiritual community located near Gainesville, Florida. John’s search for enlightenment ended when he decided that he was too far from a movie theater. He moved inside the Gainesville city limits and taught English and film for thirty years at Santa Fe College.

He has produced and acted in numerous short films and videos, including the cable TV series the “Tub Interviews,” wherein all the interviewees were required to be in a bathtub. For ten years he reviewed movies for PBS radio station WUFT. He has appeared as a standup comedian and has designed and marketed Florida-themed lamps. He coauthored Second Serve: The Renée Richards Story (Stein and Day, 1983) and its sequel No Way Renée: The Second Half of My Notorious Life (Simon & Schuster, 2007), and Speaking of Florida (University Presses of Florida, 1993).

If you would like to learn more about the author be sure and visit his website www.johnamesauthor.com