Neville!

Resumen del libro

When a new boy moves to town, he's so lonely and unhappy that he stands at the end of his block and yells, "Neville!" at the top of his lungs. He attracts the attention of another boy, and then a girl, and before long every kid in the neighborhood is adding his or her voice to the cry for Neville, even though no one knows who Neville is -- not even the reader, who finds out only on the satisfying last page. Juster's clean narrative gives just enough backstory so that we are immediately at the main character's side, feeling his unhappiness and isolation, even as he's joined by one friendly stranger after another. Juster's minimalist prose style also helps keep the ending a surprise, and leaves room for artist Karas to enter the story by making the neighborhood's calls for Neville and some of the dialogue ("What's Neville like? Does he play ball? Is he nice? I hope he doesn't push") part of the illustrations. Karas, in fact, perfectly re-creates the sense of life outside a creaky screen door, where a suburban block seems like the whole world, populated by folks who have to be home when the street lights come on.