Everything has changed for Sebby, 11, and his twin, Barbara, as they struggle with their furious, depressed, unemployed dad and with the serious physical damage to their chicken farm. Strip mining has turned the surrounding landscape into an "ashtray," the family's chickens disappear, and there are no fish in the brook. Wealthy local astrophysicist Stanley Odum has bought up lots of land in the area. What is he planning to do with it? After Sebby stumbles into a mysteriously green glen and a surrounding network of tunnels that allow him and Barbara to spy on mining officials and their goons, the plot twists and turns from one surprising discovery to another, and the technical details are sometimes difficult even for Sebby to follow. More than the science-fiction elements, it's the urgent details of conservation that will pull readers, and when the issues reach right to Sebby's home, the questions increase. His older brother has gone missing: Is he a prisoner or in secret quarantine? How is the kids' dad involved? Winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature, this title will capture young environmentalists.

Home life is difficult for Sebby. Escape is made easier after he discovers the "Hole in the Wall," a mysterious natural oasis practically in his backyard. When strange things start happening in his mining community, he and his sister, Barbie, look for answers. This imaginative and fast-paced story is bolstered by Sebby's unique narrative voice.

Eleven-year-old Sebastian "Sebby" Daniels's home life is no longer much fun. His Pa has become a layabout drunk. His beloved brother Jed has run away, and his Ma, Grum (grandmother) and perfect twin sister Barbie won't let Sebby have any fun. He regularly escapes to his hole in the wall, a cave on the edge of a strip mine, where he can set his imagination free. When his mother's chickens start laying stone eggs and disappearing and the hippie family next door deserts their commune, Sebby and Barbie investigate. All trails lead to the suspicious activities of mine owner Stanley "Boots" Odum. Chickens and people start petrifying, and the investigation becomes a matter of life and death. Winner of this year's Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature, Fraustino's rural fantasy disappoints with a studied false quirkiness and uneven, unlikable characters. The humor relies on aged and at times inappropriate jokes, and the science fantasy is never fully realized. The meandering plot gets a little fizzy near the end but never sparkles the way an award winner should. (Fantasy. 8-11)