Review Detail

Socko lives in a rundown apartment building in a rough area of town. His mother Delia works at Phat Burger and brings home leftovers for them to eat, and he and his friend Damien are looking forward to a summer of hanging out and skateboarding. Around the time that they feel they can no longer stay away from local bully Rapp and his gang, Socko's mother gets an offer she can't refuse-- her grandfather, the General, offers to move them to a brand new house in a new subdivision if they will take care of him. Socko isn't happy about leaving Damien, and not wild about taking care of an ornery, wheelchair bound, complaining old man, but he makes a friend in Livvy, the daughter of the ill-fated Moon Ridge Estates, and the two hang out in the nearly empty subdivision. While Socko and Livvy try to make the Estates in to a viable neighborhood, Socko's friends in the old neighborhood seem to be in danger from Rapp, and Socko has to decide how and if he can help them while still working to improve his own current conditions. This interesting story explores the importance of home-- both the physical place and the people who inhabit it.