Book-a-book of the Month Club discussion

Feel free to discuss the story more in-depth here

It's always fascinating to read a book not only set in a previous era but also written by someone who lived in that previous era. There are books written today set in the same time frame as this book, but the author is obviously trying to recreate an atmosphere from research and historical knowledge. When you read one actually written by someone from the the era or during the era, you can really feel the organic flow of what life was like. And it is interesting to see the differences between then and now!

Gotta applaud a boy willing to work this hard, for this long, for something he wants. Makes me wonder if he fully realizes in the beginning what a commitment they will be. How they can break your heart.

Kandice wrote: "Gotta applaud a boy willing to work this hard, for this long, for something he wants. Makes me wonder if he fully realizes in the beginning what a commitment they will be. How they can break your h..."

Agree - he definitely is going in with childhood "ignorance" (feels like a strongly negative word choice, but I am not trying to be negative here) and rose-colored glasses . . . but, it is kind of charming!

And he's so scrappy and proud! He is a good boy and has a right to be, but it's a refreshing surprise when compared with the jaded children being written about today.

Kandice wrote: "And he's so scrappy and proud! He is a good boy and has a right to be, but it's a refreshing surprise when compared with the jaded children being written about today."

I feel bad when he (view spoiler)[meets the school kids in town and they are crummy to him and he doesn't understand why. I agree with him . . . why do kids need to be crummy to each other!? (hide spoiler)]

I also felt bad about that, and remembered that more than anything else when I read it a long time ago. The opposite of that (view spoiler)[ was remembering that he used his refund to buy presents for his family. It was so incredibly sweet, especially since it's so obvious how poor his family is. In riches, not love. (hide spoiler)]

Finally finished this today . . .

Matthew wrote: "Finally finished this today . . .

"

Did you tear up? My parents spent the weekend with us and we talked about this book.

Kandice wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Finally finished this today . . .

"

Did you tear up? My parents spent the weekend with us and we talked about this book."

A little bit - I was on an airplane at the time so I had to hold it together. I still need to write up my review.