A gentle coming-of-age tale of a 7 year-old boy living on a family farm in Arkansas in the early 1950s. Much different from Grisham's thrillers and legal dramas, but enjoyable, even so. ( )

A story of poor Arkansas cotton farmers in 1950s. Interesting insights into living year to year praying that the climate will be kind and appropriate and the crop will bring in enough to repay debt and keep the family for the next year. Also views of the migratory workers who come for the picking season. Mexicans trucked in on open trailers and hill people who move from more remote parts of the south for the season. ( )

Loved this book, couldn't put it down. Is a great book about a poor young boy living in the south. ( )

3.5 Stars

Another challenge read, and though I would never pick this on my own, it wasn’t half bad.

Chronicling the harvest season of cotton, this is told from the POV of seven year old Luke Chandler, whose family is barely making ends meet. Though Luke witnesses some scary situations, shattering his innocence on several fronts, the lens through which we see things was endearing, funny, and sweet.

This was definitely a love letter from the author to his southern upbringing and roots. It also harkens back to a simpler time, an era without technology and the struggle of daily living to just survive and really taking into account what matters - family, community, and appreciating the small wins of the simple life. ( )

As a lawyer, I started reading Grisham for his legal books. I don't remember how I cam upon this one, but it is, frankly, my favorite among all of his works so far. It does not seem to be written for mass marketing; it is written from the heart, which is understandable since much of it was inspired by Grisham's own boyhood.

Having grown up in the Ozarks, having friends throughout southeastern Missouri and northern Arkansas, having traveled extensively through the years in the far northeastern reaches of the latter, I can tell you that the book is very much accurate regarding its depiction of everyday life there. There are still some far-flung, backwater pockets of the state, where the depictions could just as well be describing life in this day and age. ( )