Mr. Gedrick and Me by Patrick Carman (review)

Since his dad died six months ago, Stanley Darrow's family has been falling apart. His older siblings, Fergus and Amelia, are constantly fighting, his mom is under pressure from her boss to deliver on a big project, and no one has time to help Stanley with his bench press or teach him to use the power tools in the garage. That's when the mysterious Mr. Gedrick shows up on the family's doorstep and turns their summer upside-down. A modern Mary Poppins in a green felt suit and a tiny, temperamental car that seems to hold everything in its trunk, Mr. Gedrick soon has the family emerging from their sadness and reconnecting with one another. Stanley's chatty, engaging narration pivots easily between nine-year-old exuberance and poignant memories of his dad as he tries to navigate the world without him. Mr. Gedrick is occasionally melancholy himself, but more often he's bringing magic to mundane chores and arranging adventures that bring the three Darrow children and their mother closer together and help them move forward. His heroics range out of the home, too; readers will giggle and cheer when mom's self-important boss gets his comeuppance thanks to the family's teamwork. It's a satisfying finale to this whimsical story about a grieving family finding their way back to one another. SS