At our library we’ve assigned this book for one of our book club days, but the group is for ages 9-12, & I think the younger may feel uncomfortable with all the troubles of this family. ( )

I had made assumptions about this book based on the title, and I avoided reading and purchasing this novel in verse. I wish I had read this book earlier so I could have shared it with my students, it's a worthwhile read! ( )

CW: Father abandons family, physically unwell child, unkind nurse.

A heartfelt verse novel about 12 year old Timothy who is caught after stealing a wallet. We are told the story through the court mandated journal entries that he writes over the course of his year under house arrest. Timothy loves his unwell infant brother, Levi, so deeply that he stole the wallet in order to help pay for Levi’s life-saving medicine. This is a beautifully written and moving story that drew me in and I desperately wanted things to work out for the family. I adored James. Everyone needs a 'James' in their lives. The bittersweet ending left a tear in my eye. A wonderful middle school novel.
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Very easy to read novel ( I read in about 2 hours) which details the musings of a boy Timothy who has been put under house arrest for stealing a wallet. Through his journal we discover that Timothy stole the wallet to help pay for his baby brother Levi's treatment, that his father couldn't handle Levi's illness and left; and that his mother is working and trying to care for Levi and his juvenile delinquency has just made everything worse. Through his journal we learn about James his community officer and Mrs (Ms?) B his psychologist as well as his crazy friends' family. The book gets quite emotional and moving in the end, as Tim's mother toys with the idea of putting Levi in a home because she is struggling so much and Timothy will do anything not to let that happen. The book has moments of humour too and was overall an excellent one. (I'm pleased to see that there is a sequel too.)
Middle school boys and girls will find this book moving and very easy to read...its almost a verse novel in the way it is set out. ( )

Easy-sell premise, quick read, could work as a book club title for struggling readers -- similar to Locomotion (Woodson) or Ghost (Reynolds). Race does not come up at all in this book about juvenile crime (unless I'm misremembering something small?). No judgment one way or the other about that, but it seems important to mention. ( )