How does a frightened child overcome his fear of the world and Depression America? Amazingly the answer comes through sports, sex, help from the Church and a friendly Wizard. Set in the colorful era of the '39 World's Fair and WWII.
There were some really tough scenes in this book--a couple of deaths that rattled me. They were well written, which made them stick. Jim was well-written too, as a sort of unpleasant character--self-centered and unthinking. Much like a real pre-teen and teenage boy. Overall I found it worth my time.