Fort

by Cynthia DeFelice

Overview

A summer outdoor middle grade adventure novel from award-winning author Cynthia DeFelice, about two boys who build an awesome fort and tangle with bullies.

Eleven-year-old Wyatt and his friend Augie aren't looking for a fight. They're having the best summer of their lives hanging out in the fort they built in the woods, fishing and hunting, cooking over a campfire, and sleeping out. But when two older boys mess with the fort—and with another kid who can't fight back—the friends are forced to launch Operation Doom, with unexpected results for all concerned, in this novel about two funny and very real young heroes.

Fort is a thrilling story about friendship, revenge, and standing up for yourself, even when you think you're outmatched. It's going to be one summer these boys will never forget.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250079732
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/17/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	132,480
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Cynthia DeFelice was the author of many bestselling titles for young readers, including the novels Wild Life, The Ghost of Cutler Creek, Signal, and The Missing Manatee, as well as the picture books, One Potato, Two Potato, and Casey in the Bath. Her books were nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and listed as American Library Association Notable Children's Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among numerous other honors. Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she said, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian. She and her husband lived in Geneva, New York. She died at age seventy-two in 2024.

Editorial Reviews

Classic summer adventure . . . DeFelice doesn't shy away from the gritty realities of outdoor life, and that's what sets the book apart . . . Readers will appreciate the reminder that fun like this is still possible.” —The New York Times Book Review

“What preteen . . . wouldn't love to build a fort in the woods? DeFelice makes that dream come true . . . [and] leads to a glorious, feel-good climax in which all the right things work out and the bad guys get their richly deserved comeuppance . . . Upbeat, engaging and satisfying; altogether . . . a bit of believable, achievable adventure.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“DeFelice smoothly advances the plot to a satisfying climax and conclusion . . . for this adventuresome, good-hearted, but never goody-goody pair. Wyatt is a sympathetic narrator with a realistic blend of thoughtfulness and daring.” —Publishers Weekly

“Stuffed full of clever pranks and summertime nostalgia, this is a story of kindness and adventure . . . A boisterous and poignant coming-of-age tale.” —Booklist

“A boy-centered adventure with heart, appealing to a variety of readers.” —School Library Journal

“Thoroughly enjoyable.” —VOYA

From the Publisher

It's a familiar story of boyhood friendship, but DeFelice doesn't shy away from the gritty realities of outdoor life, and that's what sets the book apart…A reader could almost use this book as a how-to manual. The childhood world DeFelice depicts may seem to some like a throwback to decades past, when summer days were less structured and supervised, but readers will appreciate the reminder that fun like this is still possible. The boys' adventures have consequences they can see, feel, taste and smell.

The New York Times Book Review - Natalie Standiford

03/09/2015
Three pairs of buddies are the principal players in DeFelice’s straightforward story: 11-year-old Wyatt and his summer pal Augie, Augie’s Uncle Heindel and auto-parts-shop/junkyard owner Al, and older bullies J.R. and Morrie. City boy Wyatt spends summers in upstate New York with his father, whose college teaching schedule keeps him conveniently on the sidelines, giving Wyatt and Augie plenty of time for biking, fishing, hunting squirrels, and exploring the woods, where they build a fort using materials from Al’s junkyard. Protecting the fort soon becomes a challenge: is it a local mentally disabled teenager or J.R. and Morrie who are vandalizing it? DeFelice (Wild Life) smoothly advances the plot to a satisfying climax and conclusion, while engagingly developing the relationship between Wyatt, Augie, and the older men, whose low-key support provides just the right amount of guidance for this adventuresome, good-hearted, but never goody-goody pair. Wyatt is a sympathetic narrator with a realistic blend of thoughtfulness and daring; DeFelice’s secondary characters are well developed and add pleasing dimension to this summer tale. Ages 8–12. (May)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2015
Gr 4–7—Two best friends build a fort in the woods and defend it from bullies in this fun, old-fashioned story that manages to be fresh and familiar. Wyatt is enjoying the freedom of a summer with his dad in upstate New York. His friend Augie lives there year-round and has many useful skills that include killing squirrels with a slingshot and cooking them over a fire. There are the expected bullies, two older boys named J.R. and Morrie, and an unexpected friend named Gerard, a socially isolated teenager with developmental disabilities. The two friends spend rapturous days building their fort, looking at a car company's girlie calendar, and other country-boy activities unimpeded by smartphones or YouTube, since Wyatt's father doesn't want him plugged into a screen all day. In a low-stakes climax, the two bullies try to destroy the boys' fort but are foiled by an ingenious series of booby-traps. The moral center of the novel revolves around Wyatt and Augie discovering how J.R. and Morrie are mistreating Gerard and how after some hesitation, they find in him a valuable ally. There is a touch of burgeoning sexuality, mostly as Wyatt notices and appreciates Augie's aunt's figure, but otherwise the tone of the novel is remarkably innocent without being cloying or unrealistic. There is a good balance of action and description and well-developed characters, though the bullies are a tad two-dimensional. VERDICT A boy-centered adventure with heart, appealing to a variety of readers.—Kyle Lukoff, Corlears School, New York City

School Library Journal

★ 2015-01-20
What preteen boy wouldn't love to build a fort in the woods?DeFelice makes that dream come true. Wyatt, on summer vacation in upstate New York with his dad, and Augie, who lives there all year round with his grandmother, hatch a plan to build a fort in the woods. Augie's neatly depicted great-uncle and his junkyard buddy provide the necessary materials. Augie's pillowy-bosomed—a trait Wyatt hilariously can't help but notice—great-aunt gives them food. Wyatt's dad offers him the freedom to explore and grow. Augie, something of a modern-day Huckleberry Finn, has ample talent as a woodsman. The very real threat from bullies J.R. and Morrie, and their abuse of mentally disabled Gerard, a good-natured neighborhood kid, provide the impetus for Operation Doom. That plan to defend the fort and protect Gerard (and even provide some justice) leads to a glorious, feel-good climax in which all the right things work out and the bad guys get their richly deserved comeuppance. Along the way, some squirrels are sacrificed by slingshot to provide good meals, and a car-parts calendar that includes photos of attractive young women adds realistic detail, both serving to enhance the authenticity of this captivating tale. Upbeat, engaging and satisfying; altogether a very fine book, especially for boys looking for a bit of believable, achievable adventure. (Fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Review