#9 Autumn 2015 Kids' Indie Next list * "The ending is bittersweet but as satisfying as a two-box-of-tissues tearjerker can possibly be (in the realm of juvenile fiction, Schmidt is the master of the emotional gut-punch)." -- Horn Book "Schmidt writes with an elegant simplicity in this paean to the power of love.Readers will not soon forget either Joseph Brook or this spare novel written with love and grace." -- Kirkus , starred review * "Told in Jack's spare, direct first-person voice, this story's style demonstrates the beautify of simplicity as it delineates the lives of its characters, each as superbly realized as the tumultuous New England setting." -- Booklist , starred review * "The matter-of-fact narrative voice ensures that the tragic plot never overhwlms this wrenching tale of growth and loss." -- School Library Journal , starred review * "A powerful story about second chances, all the more devastating because not everyone gets one." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review.