Wendy M. Smith-D’Arezzo (Children's Literature)
Maywood, Indiana in 1962 is a quiet place. Sixth grader, Lydia Carson, is hoping for a girl her age when a new family moves in next door, but is disappointed when the only girl is four years old and the sibling who is her age is a surly boy named Willis Merrill. Woodworth develops the theme of abuse through these two characters. Willis and his siblings are being physically abused by their father and Lydia is emotionally ostracized by her mother. Lydia’s great aunt is the person they all turn to for emotional and physical support. Nanna reveals the secret of Lydia’s mother’s previous marriage and Lydia’s half-brother who is now dead, helping Lydia and her mother to forge a new relationship. Nanna also encourages Willis’ stepmother to take the children and leave town when Mr. Merrill is sent to jail for beating his wife. The topics of abuse and alcoholism are dealt with lightly, but with emotional candor, perfect for intermediate readers, many of whom are dealing with these issues in their own lives. There are no easy answers, but Woodworth manages to end the book on a hopeful note, even given the uncertainty of the future. For a first time author, Woodworth develops character, plot and setting into a very readable book for middle readers. 2005, Farrar Straus Giroux, $16.00. Ages 10 to 14.

Camille Whitten (Children's Literature)
Lydia Carson, a typical sixth grader, is discovering the truth about boys. She does everything from watching movies to playing kick-the-can with her best friend Rea Anne. Lydia has enough trouble dealing with Bobby, the bully but her life turns upside down when Willis Merrill moves into their small town of Maywood, Indiana, and she falls in love with his older brother Elliot. Lydia despises Willis and his pet raccoon, prompting her to nickname Willis “Ratboy.” She does not understand why Willis cannot be more like Elliot. As her crush develops, she teases Willis, which upsets him and ultimately pushes Elliot away. As Lydia tries to reconcile with Willis, she realizes that the Merrill family has a secret. Their family is not the only one with a secret; Lydia’s family has one too, which ultimately brings Willis and Lydia closer. Lydia learns with time that Willis is a decent boy after all and tries to befriend him by learning about Zorro, his raccoon. This book teaches children that it is okay to be friends with those of the opposite gender. Boys are not just interested in bikes and animals, and on the other hand, girls are not always interested in makeup and clothes. Lydia shows that girls can like “boy things” if they just learn about them like she does with Zorro. Girls can teach boys things as well, like Lydia does when she teaches Willis how to read. 2005, Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group, $16.00. Ages 10 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 4))
When Willis Merrill's pet raccoon jumps on her back and Willis knocks her down, sixth-grader Lydia Carson knows she wants nothing to do with him. Worse, he's her new next-door neighbor. However, his older brother Elliott is different. To gain Elliot's friendship, Lydia begins to give Willis the necessary "special handling." Reading to him in her favorite tree house fills the empty hours of her summer vacation-those that aren't filled with new household chores when the Nanna who raised her decides to take an extended vacation. "Sometimes folks just need a helping hand," Nanna had said, about the ways she helped their new neighbors. Moreover, her absence seems to help Lydia's family, too. Nevertheless, while relationships in the Carson family are improving, the Merrill family is falling apart. Willis's father's drunken rage when he discovers his wife is working results in an incarceration that allows the rest of them to leave, to make a new life somewhere else. Woodworth convincingly describes life in small town Indiana in 1962, the changing relationships between mother and adolescent daughter, and the complicated ways in which families survive and thrive, in this hopeful debut. 2005, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 192p, $16.00. Category: Fiction. Ages 8 to 11. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 6))
Twelve-year-old tomboy Lydia takes an instant dislike to the aggressive Willis and his interfering pet raccoon when his family moves in next door. However, it’s 1962, when neighbors are supposed to be neighborly, and through the nurturing efforts of her live-in great aunt, Lydia is led into association with Willis’ timid stepmom and stepsister, Beth. Willis’ alcoholic father remains frightening but distant, but when she meets Willis’ courteous, hardworking fourteen-year-old brother, Elliott, Lydia knows he is the real deal. Unfortunately, Elliott loves his brother, so Lydia fakes friendliness toward Willis while she builds her relationship with Elliott, all the while needling Willis on the sly. The strategy backfires, and Lydia is faced with the need to mend fences with the misunderstood younger brother while desperately missing the older one. Lydia’s robust voice carries the book, her point of view both limiting and illuminating the growth of many different relationships throughout the story. The sympathetic, deftly drawn characters develop authentically, and even a flimsy secondary plot thread (Lydia’s mom’s adjustment to the decade-old death of her first husband and son) and a slightly pat ending can’t dampen the vigor of Lydia’s love for the people closest to her. Fans of Creech and DiCamillo will want to give Woodworth a try. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Farrar, 192p, $16.00. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
When a strange new boy moves in next door, Lydia scornfully dubs him Ratboy because of his pet raccoon, but their relationship deepens as the secrets of their troubled families are slowly revealed. Set in small-town Indiana in 1962, this first novel is a heartfelt portrait of families destroyed by alcoholism and restored by kindness. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2005, Farrar, 185pp, 16.00. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Susan Walker (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 1))
WHEN RATBOY LIVED NEXT DOOR is a wonderful book for any student to read. It made me laugh right out loud as well as cry in a couple of places. It is well written and easy to read and will keep the reader entertained from beginning to end. The story is about Lydia Carson, who had always lived in the same small, quiet town, and her adventures and experiences of living next door to her new, odd neighbors who have two sons, one wild one who has a pet raccoon and whom she, at first despises, and another who is older with whom she becomes friends. There is also a young girl next door that Lydia takes under her wing. The story deals with many topics including friendship, brothers and sisters, family problems, alcoholism, and the problems that students might have by being labeled Special Ed. I would recommend that this book be included in any elementary or junior high library. Fiction. Grades 5 and up. 2005, Farrar Straus Giroux, 181p., $16.00. Ages 10 up.