The secret of Ferrell Savage

I'm going to make a bold statement: more books for children should feature cannibalism.

I've been trying to broaden my reading range by adding more middle-grade books in my rotation, and this was a good one for me, as it has a sense of humor that is equal parts goofy and kind of dark:

“My great-great-grandfather was Shannon Wilson Bell.”“Uh-oh,” I said. Now it was starting to make sense. “He was one of the guys Alferd ate.”Mary nodded. “Gosh, I'm sorry, Mary. I always knew there was something weird about me. I guess it goes back a long way. Wow, I'm really sorry.” What else could I say? What does any guy say to the girl he's crushing on when he finds out his family ate hers for dinner? This could be a real relationship buster.

So Ferrell's ancestor ate Mary's great-great-grandfather, and Mary isn't too concerned about that, but she is concerned that the new kid in school is going to reveal this secret to everyone, which would 1) make everyone think Ferrell is some kind of freak, and 2) contribute to her peers' (nonexistent) belief that Mary is a loser. Ferrell, who has been friends with Mary since they were babies and suddenly has realized that hey, girls are kind of cute, Mary in particular, begrudgingly decides to challenge said New Kid to a sled race in order to keep their family secret, well, secret.

You know, that age-old story.

Gill has crafted a really sweet, funny novel that deals with a topic most would consider taboo, and I applaud him for that. I also applaud him for the creation of Ferrell, who is just the most precious and relatable protagonist:

“Mary brought me the bucket of melting snow, and I drank with my cupped hands. I wished we had some Kool-Aid to pour into it. Water is so boring and useless without sugar.”

You might as well be reading my mind every time I drink water, really.

Anyway, a solid entry onto my (currently, sadly) minimal middle-grade shelf, but I can't imagine I'll be reading too many other books like this one. 4/5 cannibal ancestors.