From School Library Journal Grade 6-8-- In an unusual mix of fantasy and realism, a hobkin facilitates the survival of two runaways. Sexually abused Kay, fearful that her stepfather will turn on younger sister Liza next, flees with her to an abandoned west Texan farmhouse that once belonged to the Stark family. After convincing local people that they might be kin to the Starks, Kay gets work at the general store and inexperienced Liza tackles the housekeeping, without electricity or running water. Hobkin, a brownie who had followed his English mistress to the farm after World War I, shows Liza the ropes and saves her from serious injury several times. Good neighbors, milking goats, hard work, and friends give Liza new self-confidence and a sense of belonging in the tiny community. Kay's problems run deeper but by the end of the summer when both their mother (also abused) and a Ms. Stark arrive, she's almost ready to trust again. Hobkin's unexpected presence in the lonely, taste-the-dust setting works, although the question of whether or not it takes a Hobkin to ensure female survival there gives pause. Uneven pacing and an ending too full of solutions and explanations (as well as Hobkin's abrupt departure) are balanced by realistic dialogue, genuine tension, and appealing characters. --Sara Miller, Nassau Library System, NYCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews Kay and Liza Franklin--not their real names, as Liza keeps telling herself--fled home after their stepfather, who abused Kay as a child, turned his attention to Liza. Moving into an abandoned farmhouse in Britt, Texas (pop. 532), the girls convince the townsfolk that they are long-lost cousins of the absent owner. The farmhouse contains Hobkin, a brownie who followed an early settler from England. With his help, the girls make a new life, eventually getting their mother to join them. In the end, Hobkin is set free to join the Indian spirits or roam where he will. In her third book, Griffin continues to mine the vein of fantasy and sf she used in Otto from Otherwhere (1989) and A Dig in Time (1991), while exploring a heavier theme. Kay and Liza are fully realized, by turns resourceful or frightened, independent or in need of help. In the process of finding supportive friends- -people, a goat, the brownie--they are able to heal their wounded family. If things are a little too easy (empty farmhouse, compliant owner, workaholic brownie), they nevertheless make an entertaining story. (Fiction. 9+) --
