One day, newly orphaned Jamal and his sister Chantay arrive at the shelter, hungry and scared. As Angelique tries to find a new home for them, she develops a fascination with seven-year-old Jamal, who seems to inhabit a world of his own. Jamal tells her fantastic stories of a man named Jacky Wacky, who protects the poor children of the city and punishes the adults who harm them. A God-fearing woman, Angelique doesn't believe his stories at first. But strange things begin to happen whenever Jamal is around, and Mother Angelique is forced to admit that the world may contain stranger truths than her faith can explain.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for older teen readers and adults who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
William Kowalski is the best-selling, award-winning author of many novels including seven in the Rapid Reads line. His first novel, Eddie's Bastard, won the 1999 Rosenstein Award, the 2001 Ama-Boeke Prize, and occupied the #5 spot on the Times of London bestseller list. His fifth novel, The Hundred Hearts, won the 2014 Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. He has been nominated three times for the Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award and his books have been translated into fifteen languages. William lives with his family in Nova Scotia.