Eleven-year-old Dal Wilkins has high hopes for his summer vacation He istraveling out west on a real Pullman train to the land of cowboys and bucking broncos. At least that's the west that Dal, a city kid, imagines. The catch? Dal's traveling partner is Mr. Sabatini, his new stepfather. Mr. Sabatini is okay, maybe, but Dal can't imagine thinking of him as his dad.At first, summer in Eden , Idaho, isn't quite what Dal expects. He and Mr. Sabatini bunk down in tiny Unit Number 4 of the Garden of Eden Motel--so much for the Wild West. Then Dal got his first job--"roguing" bean plants with a wisecracking crew of locals--and meets Patty Puckett, the girl next door. Summer in Eden starts to resemble the adventure Dal was hoping to find. It takes a journey to the snake-infested wilderness, though, for Dal to discover the real--not the TV--meaning of courage, resourcefulness, and love.
