I really wanted this to be stronger, especially for its target audience of kids. I loved many things about it. The way it showed family life with Shad, his mom, and his brother did a great job of showing how kids can hide so much from their parents, and how messy and complicated those relationships are. Like how you can know your brother is a jerk, but you still kind of want him to like you. And how Shad's family has known him the longest, but they don't really seem to know him at all. The way the timeline of the story occurred was unnecessarily confusing, and I'm not sure that the racism suffocating the town (country) and making seemingly "nice" people like Shad do and think horrible things will come across clearly. I would have loved part of the story told from Rachel's or Nathaniel's perspective. Also, why was George Nelson made into such an odd character? I think all the emphasis on his humungous nose was distracting. I'm glad I read this, it definitely has me thinking about how the kids will feel about this story. ( )

This powerful look into situational ethics, self-identity, relationships, and the cost of allegiances, explores the life of a young boy coming of age in the South during the post-Civil War era. Map of Richmond 1867, A Note to the Reader

Adore this book. Set in post Civil War Richmond, it gives readers an unvarnished, unbiased glimpse of a very complicated time in our nation's history. ( )

An interesting look at life in Richmond in the early days of the Reconstruction Era. ( )

civil rights, racism