This was very much an "eh" read to me. I certainly didn't dislike it, but neither did I fall in love with the characters, the scenery, the plot... anything.

I liked some characters, but those characters were the ones who seemed the most glossed over. In all fairness, the character I wanted to know the most about would not have helpful in the "lesson" of the novel: the world is large, but that no matter how small you feel, you're still a large part of the world to someone. In order to learn that the world is large, characters have to come and go... the character I found the most interesting (Whitey, who proposes to Jim's mother and is rejected) has to move out of the scene... and this teaches Jim a lesson, right?

The ending was fairly pat, even for a YA novel. I don't know that I had expected anything else, given the majority of the book, but I think I held out a little bit of hope.

All in all, it was a good read for someone interested in coming of age novels set in a specific time frame (Great Depression era) and locale (small North Carolina town). For a reader drawn to powerfully written characters rather than flowery descriptions of surroundings, it likely will do for you what it did for me. ( )

This is a lovely story of a young boy growing up in the Depression era, in a small town in North Carolina. Jim is being raised by his mother and his uncles, and the story reflects the deep love amongst them all. I liked the book for several reasons, including, the notion that cross-cultural issues arise between the closest neighbors, such as the "hill people" and the "town people", and that although divorce may not have been common at that time, but there were still alternative family structures. I guess the story ends up feeling timeless. I look forward to reading this book with grandchildren someday. ( )

Jim is a young boy, heading into his teenaged years, who lives with his mother and three uncles in a rural North Carolina town during the Great Depression. It is a gentle coming of age novel in a more innocent time. There are no major cataclysmic events driving the plot. It is just (as if it could be "just" anything) a lovely, almost nostalgic look at a family and a place. My bookclub chose this book on one member's recommendation and because it is set not far from where we all live and we were split on how we felt about it. I would liken it to the creek meandering through my backyard. Small and seemingly insignificant, it brings wonderful wildlife to our backdoor and offers a quiet, peaceful and contemplative place to escape the street out front. This book felt the same way to me. One of the reviews on the back cover compares it to a folk ballad and that strikes me as appropriate too. This very quietness or ballad like feel was problematic for some of the readers in our group. But I appreciated the poignancy that is rare nowadays and I look forward to the newly released sequel that will let me slip back into Jim's life and coming adulthood. ( )

Delightful book about a boy growing up in rural No. Carolina during the Depression. Similar to Russel Baker's Growing Up. ( )

Upon first look, a simple and uplifting book about a boy growing up in South Carolina during the depression. Once read, however, the complexities woven into the simple fabric of this book can be seen. A fine, fast read and a nice discussion piece as well. This book leaves you feeling clean and true. ( )