In 1880, 15-year-old Artemis Bonner, an African-American New Yorker, travels to Tombstone, Arizona, to avenge the murder of his Uncle Ugly and to find his uncle's hidden gold stake. Artemis chases the murderous scalawag from Mexico to Alaska and back again before a showdown on the exact spot where Uncle Ugly met his untimely demise. A 1993 ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
Publishers Weekly,Uncle Ugly's tombstone reads: ``Here lies Ugly Ned Bonner, Once Alive--Now a Goner.'' Set in the late 1800s, this clever spoof chronicles Artemis Bonner's quest to avenge his uncle's death and to recover the treasure that rightfully belongs to his widowed aunt. As Artemis and his loyal friend Frolic trail the villain Catfish Grimes, the youth is tied to a cactus, loses an ear and almost becomes a bear's dinner. Yet when he learns that Catfish has stolen the treasure, Artemis is more determined than ever to take revenge. ``When I told Frolic, he spat on the ground, which is not Sanitary but which shows that he Means Business and will go with me to do what we must do.'' In his amusingly histrionic narration, Artemis emphasizes, with capitals, matters most important to him--``Quick and Agile mind''; ``Dear Life.'' Affected dialogue, authentic period touches and a few unexpected twists are inventively blended in this offbeat yarn. To Myers's readers, the Wild West will never look the same again. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
