The Sledding Hill

New York: Greenwillow, 2005. 4th Printing . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good +. The interior of the book is crisp and clean. The author has signed his name and the date on the title page, but there are no other marks or wear. The blue covers are fresh, again showing no wear. There is a small red remainder mark on the bottom of the text block, but this is the only flaw. The dust jacket is not clipped, and looks new. The jacket is now in a protective mylar cover. Synopsis: Fourteen-year old Eddie Profitt is in trouble. The two people he cared most about -- his father and Billie Bartholomew, his best friend -- died a few months ago. He misses his father, but he's being haunted (so he thinks) by Billie. Billie, who narrates this story, is hanging around because he is worried about Eddie. Eddie is "way smart", but his mind works differently (attention deficit disorder? or something similar?) and he just blurts out whatever he is thinking. No tact, that boy. Worse, he is about to lock horns with a high school English teacher who is also a local evangelical preacher. Mr Tarter wants to ban a book from the school that discusses alienated teenagers, drugs, homosexuality, and -- gasp -- unmarried pregnancy and possible abortion. Who is it written by? Chris Crutcher, of course, who appears as a minor character in the last chapter. Billie wants to help Eddie, but as a ghost there is only so much he can do. Can Eddie handle this alone?