Aim

July 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-A boy grappling with life-changing decisions, unlikely friendships, and what it means to be a man is at the soul of this story. Fourteen-year-old country boy Junior Bledsoe's life takes a turn for the worse when his father is found dead from drinking. The year is 1941, and news of World War II simmers in the background. Struggling to make sense of the new order of things and his place in the world, Junior yearns for respect in place of the sullied reputation his father left behind. He goes to school, labors around the farm, and does odd jobs to help pay the bills, but his cantankerous granddaddy, a newcomer to the family, doesn't recognize his worth. His father hated this man, and Junior starts to learn why. Consumed by unanswered questions surrounding his father's death, Junior begrudgingly makes friends with a boy named Catfish, and the road they take comes with trouble. But a question remains: What drove Junior's father to drink so much his last few years? The novel's historical details are so deftly intertwined with the story line that the work feels like a slice of time that has been recorded on paper. Hostetter's well-crafted turn of phrase and timely humor all add to the richness of the era. VERDICT A must-have for historical fiction collections.-Robyn Gioia, Antilles Middle School, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

In this pre-World War II companion to the novels Blue (2006) and Comfort (2009), 14-year-old Junior Bledsoe fights personal battles at home as America's entry into the war grows imminent. Junior struggles with school and to control his anger at his alcoholic father, his insufferable grandfather, his neighbors, and himself. When his father dies after another night of drinking, Junior feels ever more desperate to understand himself and find his own aim in life. He finds relief from his troubles in escapes to the nearby woods and tinkering with cars. A fatherly neighbor provides some much-needed guidance, and a challenging teacher and troubled classmate help him find some direction. Hostetter creates a vivid sense of time and place in her early-1940s rural North Carolina setting and a fully realized, sympathetic character in Junior. She makes Junior choose how to handle the hard things that come his way, whether to be shaped negatively or positively by them. Over the course of the novel, a year passes after Junior's father dies, and the story satisfyingly concludes with him confident and looking forward to the future. An author's note explains the story's historical context. An absorbing, well-crafted coming-of-age story with finely detailed historical background. (bibliography, further reading) (Historical fiction. 9-12) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 15, 2016
In this preWorld War II companion to the novels Blue (2006) and Comfort (2009), 14-year-old Junior Bledsoe fights personal battles at home as Americas entry into the war grows imminent. Junior struggles with school and to control his anger at his alcoholic father, his insufferable grandfather, his neighbors, and himself. When his father dies after another night of drinking, Junior feels ever more desperate to understand himself and find his own aim in life. He finds relief from his troubles in escapes to the nearby woods and tinkering with cars. A fatherly neighbor provides some much-needed guidance, and a challenging teacher and troubled classmate help him find some direction. Hostetter creates a vivid sense of time and place in her early-1940s rural North Carolina setting and a fully realized, sympathetic character in Junior. She makes Junior choose how to handle the hard things that come his way, whether to be shaped negatively or positively by them. Over the course of the novel, a year passes after Juniors father dies, and the story satisfyingly concludes with him confident and looking forward to the future. An authors note explains the storys historical context. An absorbing, well-crafted coming-of-age story with finely detailed historical background. (bibliography, further reading) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.