Reviewed by Nic Huette, 14, Grade 8, Fairfield Middle School, Fairfield, IA

Puffin Books 1982 Steve is a normal kid living with his parents until his parents think of adopting another kid. When Earl arrives, Steve has already found out that Earl has a criminal record. Also, Earl is a year younger but two inches taller. Earl and Steve have ups and downs throughout their relationship. They even serve time at an old folks home together because they were sentenced to it by a judge. The reason that they were in trouble was because Steve wrote a gang name on an old train, trying to impress Earl. Earl acted tough and liked to fight. He did not look like a thirteen-year-old. Would Earl change? Would that hard shell crack and show the little kid inside him? This book is a very realistic novel with well-developed plot and characters. The characters are different and so it makes it neat to read about their personalities and outlooks on life. I would not recommend this book to someone who likes very exciting books, because this is a fairly low-key book and not much happens. I must warn anyone thinking of reading this book that it is very slow at some parts and it was sometimes hard for me to stay focused on the book. Yet it has great descriptions and a well laid-out plot and setting. I thought it was worth reading; the dialogue and the interesting context of the book sucked you in to make it a real page turner for me. I do not recommend this book to anyone in high school or older. It is definitely for a younger audience. On a scale from one to ten I would give this book a solid seven.

Language Arts Teacher: Virginia Broz, Fairfield, IA

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