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Overview
Hubbo's first year in high school is off to a bad start, as he veers wildly between the lovely but poor Fleurette Featherstone Fitchell and the ever more enticing gang at the exclusive Hi-Y Club. Trying to avoid his guardian aunt (who just happens to be the school's cleaning lady) and working for the elegant, elderly and very rich Miss Collar-Cuff make life even more confusing for Hubbo. A rich Dickensian cast of characters and an improbable surprise ending round out this wonderfully comic novel by one of Canada's best-loved children's authors.Synopsis
With a Dickensian cast of characters and an improbable soap opera-style ending, this novel for young readers is delightfully droll, even as it deals with the difficult theme of social classes and pits the rich against the poor. It is set in post-World War II Canada, providing an interesting historic context, and as always Doyle's realistic dialogue and teen-oriented situations appeal to this age group.
Hubbo O'Driscoll's first year in high school is off to a bad start, as he finds traumatic true love with the lovely but poor Fleurette Featherstone Fitchell, and is tormented by the elitist Hi-Y Club. Working for the elegant, elderly, and very rich Miss Collar-Cuff makes life even more confusing for poor Hubbo. Is he turning into a snob? While Hubbo gradually comes to realize the value of his fun (albeit poor) friends and his loving guardian aunt, he has no idea what surprise is waiting for him at the end of the school year.
School Library Journal
Gr 7-9-Hulbert "Hubbo" O'Driscoll is a teenaged golf caddy about to start high school. Things are going from bad to worse as he finds true love in the form of Fleurette Featherstone Fitchell and true hate in the form of the elitist Hi-Y club. Life looks fairly grim for this lad, his friends, and his guardian, Mrs. O'Driscoll, but the fortunes are smiling on this hapless orphan, and he is canny enough to nod his head and smile right back. The story takes place in post-World War II Canada where society cruelly draws the lines between rich and poor. Doyle's writing takes star billing in this perfectly crafted, rollicking read. The narrative is colorful, with some delightfully comic moments, and the story and language are completely accessible to teens. The character list at the end with brief Hubboized synopses is a fun way to wrap up this great rags-to-riches tale with a surprising twist at the end.-Lisa Denton, J. S. Russell JHS, Lawrenceville, VA