This is another Kiddie Lit book and, while I'm getting tired of reading children's books, it was a pretty good read. The book doesn't talk about racism until almost the end and it seems like the second half of the book has a completely different setting, plot, and point from the first half. What I mean is, everything gets a lot more serious and the main character has to deal with some things he is definitely not ready for. But everything turns out alright in the end. The back cover summed it up well, I think, when it said that the books starts out with the typical family in the Midwest and then turns serious as the parents' decision to take a vacation in the south "immerses" the family in the racial tension. The only problem I have with that is that there was only one event that showed the racial tension and the main character really did not understand that at all; it only really mentioned why the church bombing happened in passing, as far as I remember.
This was Curtis' first novel, according to the back cover, and I think it was pretty good. I haven't read 'Bud, Not Buddy' so I can't say if it was better or worse but if it's like this book it must be worth reading. It seemed like what a boy of the main character's age would think and write and react so I was happy with that.
Bad things: There was one part, about the Wool Pooh that I wasn't quite sure I understood. Kenny, the main character, says he sees something and it's not clear if his eyes are playing tricks on him, he's hallucinating out of terror, or there really is someone there. But that was probably just me trying to get a book done before I went to our concert.
Rating: Good.
Read again? Maybe.
You read? Sure.
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