This book is a wonderfully charming middle grade historical fiction. Ellis Earl, our protagonist, is the right mixture of bright yet fallible, giving yet selfish at times – evading the perfect protagonist trope that is one of my major gripes with children’s literature. The particular time and place covered by the book is one that is very often left out of even adult historical fiction, and viewing it through a child’s eyes was a refreshing change of pace. It also touches on concepts that many children still deal with today: racism from adults, poverty, hunger, inadequate shelter. Jackson does not gloss over these topics at all; instead, the reader is given a truthful inside look from a child who is living it day by day.

I’ve docked half a star because I found that Ellis Earl sometimes either understood big concepts a little too easily or didn’t understand small things an eleven-year-old should, but honestly, it wasn’t enough to take me out of the story.

Overall, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, and it’s already one of my favorites for the year. I imagine many children today will find camaraderie with Ellis Earl the same way he did with Charlie Bucket.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher. This in no way had an effect on my review, aside from moving the book to the top of my TBR pile.