Young, Moira. Road To Ever After.

Young, Moira. Road To Ever After. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends  2018

215p $16.99  ISBN 978-1-250-11729-8  elem/ms  Fantasy  E-BN

This novel is beautifully written. Davy David is an orphan who has
artistic talent drawing angels in the dirt. He copies the pictures
from a book about Renaissance angels. Just before Christmas, a stray
dog he names George sets the events in motion. Davy meets old Miss
Flint, who hires him to drive her back to her childhood home by the
sea. Reluctantly he agrees. Along the way they steal a truck full of
turkeys. When the truck runs out of gas, they buy a decrepit
motorcycle with a sidecar and then they steal a police car and a
bicycle and finally walk the the last leg of their journey.

After the first night, Miss Flint grows younger every few hours until she is a little girl of ten who has left her house. Seeking an explanation for this, Davy comes across a Celtic theory that says it takes three days for a soul to get to heaven and it is guarded and protected during that time. Davy decides that he and George are the protectors who are meant to escort Miss Flint to the place where she will go to heaven. After her death, Davy finds out that the house has been left to him and he has a bright future for the first time in his life.


The use of words is absolutely beautiful in this novel. The way death
is viewed and treated is so gentle and serene that this title could be
of help to a student dealing with the death of a relative. While
growing younger by the hour is a fantasy, the author makes it seem
plausible. An excellent title for middle-school readers. Gentle and
beautifully written, this novel is excellent for middle-school
readers.

Summary: Beautifully written novel about an orphan boy and the elderly
lady he is taking back to her childhood home. She is going home to
die. Death is treated beautifully.  Grades 5-8.

Orphans-Fiction, Death-Fiction                         --Joan Theal