The Big Wander

Booktalk:

Back highways and small towns in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, 1962...

Clay, age 14, is set for a summer of wild adventure in the American Southwest. His one goal is to find his namesake--Uncle Clay, a rodeo star who left the circuit to try his hand at uranium mining. Unfortunately for Clay, his older brother Mike is not as enthusiastic as he is to spend the entire summer on an almost impossible quest, as their only clues to finding their uncle are a two year old picture and a scrambled telephone message. Mike's heart continues to call him back to their hometown of Seattle, Washington to be with his girlfriend Sheila just as much as Clay's heart urges him to continue the trek across the "real West."

On the way across the desert, Clay meets a pretty young Texan girl named Marilyn, with whom he exchanges addresses. Clay writes to her of his adventures, becoming increasingly attached to his romantic visions of her.

When Clay and Mike meet Hubcap Willie and his burro Pal, Clay instantly takes a liking to this eccentric wanderer with a penchant for trading and scavenging the desert for lost hubcaps. After giving Willie and Pal a ride in the back of their old pickup truck, Clay and Mike find themselves in a pickle when Willie decides to make a midnight trade-Pal and all of her gear for the boys' truck.

This turn of events signals the end of Mike's journey, but through perseverance, Clay is able to convince his brother to leave him behind to continue on his quest to find Uncle Clay. Through a series of odd jobs at small trading posts, Clay is finally led to the first real clue to finding his uncle.

On his way into the real wild desert with Pal, Clay meets Sam and Russell Yazzie, two Navajo Indians who explain that Uncle Clay has been living with their tribe and recently left to go and save wild mustangs from being herded up and destroyed in Utah. Clay finally finds his uncle in jail awaiting a trial after being caught by Barlow, the man who chose not to help Uncle Clay's Navajo wife who subsequently died in the desert.

Will Clay manage to free his uncle from jail? What is going to happen to the last herd of wild mustangs in Utah?

Curriculum Notes:

Although Clay's fascination with Marilyn throughout the story was at times wearisome and distracting, young adult readers may be inspired by author Will Hobbs' vivid depictions of the American Southwest to consider further investigating the landscape and natural beauty of the desert. They may also feel connected to the idea of safeguarding the future of animals endangered by the conquest of man and the preservation of the landscape that is rapidly being developed today by large companies.

The situation of prejudice against Clay and his Navajo wife can be used to illuminate issues that pervade our society. Mixed race couples are still discriminated against, and other minorities continue to fight for the right to marry. These issues may speak to young adult readers, who in the current political climate may be aware how these issues could affect their own futures. A discussion may inspire them to consider their own ideas of social equality.

The story may also serve as a springboard to connect youth to environmental and conservation concerns in our age of global warming, climate change, and endangered species. The question of what should happen to the Mustangs will echo to the larger issue of personal responsibility that individuals should feel in helping to preserve our planet and its diverse species in the face of development and urban sprawl.

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