I don't know if others bothered to read the Q&A with the author at the end of the book or if they simply didn't notice it at the end of the book, but I noticed that some of the reviewers who didn't like the book as much as I did seemed to think Michael Glasscock did a lot of research to write this book. What we find out in the Q&A with the author was that a lot of these characters are based on real life people and the grandparents are based on his own maternal grandparents who he lived with for nine months out of the year. He also wrote most of the book from his own memory.
The other thing I noticed about many (not all) who rated and reviewed the book a little bit lower were either from a much younger generation (basically anybody who didn't have WW2 era grandparents) OR, they didn't know a whole lot of their WW2 history or what American culture was like during that time. The reaction to the grandparents from younger readers find the grandparents harsh or uncaring. What they either missed or don't seem to know is that it was the 1940's, it was during WW2 and one's elders spoke to children much differently than they do today. That's because they were more strict. Seems to me the younger generation readers don't know that entitlement, or that the world owes you something was not taught back then. If you wanted anything at all during that time, you worked for the money to buy it or you built it yourself or you did some kind of work for trade.
But, the story follows Little Joe Stout who goes to live with his grandparents in Round Rock, TN in the early 1940's during WW2 after he and his parents are in a car accident from a blown tire. Both of Little Joe's parents die in the accident and a new life (and lifestyle) is thrust upon the young boy.
His grandparents are what I would describe as "tough old birds." LIttle Joe's grandmother, who becomes Mommy Washington to Joe, is your basic, older Southern woman, who cooks everything in bacon grease, reads a lot, smokes a lot and is your traditional church-going wife. At the same time, even though she lost her only daughter, she's a tough old bird. She may be strict and she might appear to be pushing Little Joe too quickly to "get over" the death of his parents but I think that's just how it was back then. These would be people who lived through The Depression and then they have to live through a war. What we don't get to read about, presumably because the story is about Little Joe, is that Little Joe's grandmother probably spent quite a few nights in her room, by herself, grieving for the loss of her only daughter and thanking God for sparing her grandson. So yes, she's tough and strict and makes Little Joe do chores but she's not mean or evil or nasty. Country life is different than city life and when she tells Little Joe that he'll get used to country living and country food, she's not being mean, she's being strong.
At first, one might think Little Joe's grandfather, Daddy Washington, is a total milquetoast. Not at all. He's a quiet Southern gentleman who probably lets his wife think she rules the roost while he goes out and makes a living as the town engineer. He's got his man-cave (the garage), he sits down and eats what his wife puts in front of him and we don't see the grandparents argue. Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean they don't.
And then there are Little Joe's friends. Sugar is a bit of a tom-boy but still wears her hair in girly pigtails and talks about who likes who on the school bus. Bobby is a "colored" boy from the "colored" part of town. Most of the action we see with the three of them is at Little Joe's farm although we do see them going to other places in the book. Sugar can kick a shin that'll put tears in your eyeballs and Bobby is just a fun little boy. It doesn't take long to figure out that these three are no doubt friends for life even though the book spans the first year of Little Joe's life in his new home and environment.
We get a look at racism in this book when Little Joe's grandmother stands up to the local "white trash" bullies who try to beat a Chinese man traveling through on the way to see his son who is leaving for the war. The town bullies seem to be all adult white men who believe he's a "Jap" and think he should be in one of the camps with the rest of the "Japs."
Little Joe quickly learns that his grandmother doesn't like people who don't like people who hate "colored people" or anyone who is different (i.e. not white). This is a time where Jim Crow laws are in effect and there are separate water fountains, separate schools, etc. And she's not this way to be all political or to make statements. She is how she is because she respects all human beings. Little Joe comes to his grandparents already uncorrupted but his grandmother strengthens that attitude by leading by example.
The only thing I could not figure out was the age gap. If Little Joe's grandfather is 70 years old, then surely his grandmother is in her mid to late 60's. How do they have a 9 year old grandson and they only had ONE child? Since everybody had children so young back in that time, I would have guessed Little Joe's grandparents to be in their 40's, perhaps late 40's. When I was 9, my own WW2 era grandmother was well into her 50's but she had 11 children. So when I was in my early 20's, she was in her early 70's. It was just something I noticed but it doesn't take anything away from the book.
Overall, this an A+ book that I loved and I'm looking forward to reading the other three book in the series. According to the author, the 4th book returns to Little Joe in his late 20's so I can't wait until it's published. I'm dying to know if Little Joe goes on to be a Veterinarian.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review in return. I'm looking forward to recommending this book. It's for anybody who can read.
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