I am always going to root for the underdog and no one needs help and support more than Mickey. His life is a trial, sick mother, living at or below poverty, bullied in school and never believed to be innocent. I can see him walking down a dusty country lane wondering about fairness and what it takes to not be beaten, not be ridiculed, not be made to feel like less than anyone else. A simple, powerful story about those who believe in fairness and what makes a family.

Thank you Black Rose and NetGalley for a copy. ( )

FROM AMAZON: A passing train pulling two yellow cabooses guarantees a promising future. So says the local legend. Though Mickey's mom witnessed the rare occurrence when she was a senior in high school, life for the two of them is anything BUT. No man in the home. Welfare. No car. Clothes from the local Methodist mission. A dumpy trailer in a trailer park. And all the labels and stereotypes that come with life at the poverty line for white folks. At school, twelve-year-old Mickey is nameless, powerless, and invisible.

Things take a turn for the better when Mickey meets Abe, a resourceful black man and former Navy SEAL. A fast friendship develops, and Abe begins filling the fatherless void in Mickey's life. In his determination to help Mickey rise above his disadvantages, Abe not only disrupts the small Alabama town's social structure, but also incites its wealthiest and most malevolent citizen.

Now forced to run the gauntlet, it will take all of Abe's skills and then some if he and Mickey are to survive.

FROM BLACK ROSE: "An enthralling tale of compassion, selflessness and justice." -Luke Swanson, author of The Other Hamlet Brother

Life is tough for Mickey Tucker. The white sixth-grader and his bedridden mother live in a trailer park and struggle to make ends meet with their monthly welfare checks. Mickey's circumstances take a turn for the better, however, when he meets Abe Loomis, a resourceful black man and former Navy SEAL. A fast friendship forms and Abe begins filling the fatherless void in Mickey's life.