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Jun 08, 2021IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Very funny satire on small town politics by an Indiana author. The California town of Mudlick is run by “the Committee”, a group of self-appointed concerned citizens who feel it is their duty to determine what the morals and traditions of the town should be. They would also like to change that dreadful name – to “Vahalla West”. The Committee is hoping to convince everyone through the annual summer election of the “Junior Mr. Mayor”, a ceremonial but emotionally important position given to a high school senior-to-be in a town-wide election. They think they have the perfect candidate in super-popular Class president and tennis star Jimmy Doggins, nicknamed “Dogg”. Jimmy’s father is a well-off car dealer who has used good-looking Jimmy in his car commercials for years, so Jimmy should be a shoo-in. EXCEPT – he will be opposed in the race by the first female candidate ever for Junior Mr. Mayor, long-time friend and sometimes rival Ivy Simmons, well-known for her local charitable works, but from the wrong side of the tracks, with a gay campaign manager, and – oops! – pregnant. The Committee freaks out. Much of the humor is from the horrified reactions of the Committee members and from the unusual point-of-view. The story is told in first person *plural*, that is, as “we”, the first novel I can ever recall being told that way. The mysterious writer can act like he or she speaks for the Committee as a whole but can therefore anonymously describe everyone in town, even other committee members, in sarcastic, insulting ways. Among all of the wacky characters, there is one more star as focal point – a topiary shrub in the form of a little girl with her hand raised. “Fern” is so life-like that the residents begin to invest emotions in her, seeming to imagine that she is alive.