Meely LaBauve

Fifteen-year-old Meely LaBauve is growing up on Catahoula Bayou and living by his wits. But the law has it in for Meely's dad, an alligator hunter who often disappears for days at a time, and Junior Guidry, nephew of a rogue cop and a bully himself, has made badgering Meely his favorite sport. When the LaBauves find themselves in the law's sights, it takes baseball bats, fire ants, flying alligators, and a lot of fast thinking to set things right.

Not since Huck Finn rafted down the Mississippi has there been a coming-of-age story like this, told in such an utterly authentic unlettered American voice. From a charming encounter with first love in the Canciennes' corn patch to an adventurous paddle through wild and timeless places little explored, Ken Wells has cooked up a zesty gumbo of a book--rich, poignant, and often hilarious.