A Tough Nut to Crack

by Tom Birdseye

Make that two tough nuts to crack. City girl Cassie Bell never expected to go to Kentucky, but that's exactly where she winds up when her grandpa, whom she's never even met, suddenly needs help on his farm. Country life—and her grandpa—are way different than she ever imagined. She'll have to contend with the likes of a wild turkey, a love-struck farm boy, and a mysterious grudge between her dad and grandfather. But she refuses to give up on her mission to bring her family together again. Cassie thinks she'll have it all figured out in no time, but one thing's for sure: The Grandpa-Dad problem is going to be a tough nut to crack.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

I grew up in North Carolina and Kentucky, an ardent fan of anything that smacked of sports, crawdads, mud balls, forts built in the woods, secret codes, bicycles without fenders, butter pecan ice cream, and snow. I was, however, decidedly uninterested in writing-or any academic aspect of school, for that matter-never imagining that at the age of thirty-five I would become a published author. And yet after two unrelated college degrees, a year living in Japan, and ten years of teaching experience, that is what happened. Life, it seems, is full of who'd-a-thought-its.

I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.

Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.

True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.

Reviews

[McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book and I recommend to read it

[Kate Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eighth-grader Cassie Bell travels with her father and brother to visit their estranged grandfather after he has an accident on his farm. With both her grandmother and mother dead, there is nobody to make peace between her father and grandfather, and nobody knows what they are feuding about.

The big secret about their feud is supposed to lighten the mood, but I found it disappointing, and the author used a lot of generalizations to describe ALL men as stubborn and opinionated. Her would-be crush is never resolved one way or another. I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it.

[Lauren Astle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book! It was all about the father and grandfather fighting and a girl trying to bring them back together. She finds out right at the end that they were fighting over someone cheating in a MOnopoly game. They hadn't talked for 15 years because of it. SO dumb.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Geneva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Birdseye has done it again. He has created a wonderful light hearted book full of caring and strong characters whom have dealt with some serious issues in their short lives.