From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All
Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply
poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption,
and hope.
Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone
knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are
compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny
Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard.
An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't
understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told
about that day.
Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly
bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an
underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds
himself in trouble again. He's desperate to figure out what happened to
Calvin and, eventually, Benny.
But will anyone believe him?
National Book Award Finalist * ALA Schneider Family Book Award *
2019 ALSC Notable Children's Book * Publishers Weekly Best Books of
2018 * 2019-2020 Nebraska Golden Sower Award * Amazon Best Books of
2018 * Kirkus Best of Children's 2018 * New York Public Library Best
Books 2018 * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018 * 2018
Nerdy Book Club Middle Grade Winner * South Carolina Junior Book Award
Nominee * 2020 Colorado Children's Book Award Nominee * Bank Street
Best Children's Book of the Year 2019 (9-12) * 2020 Grand Canyon
Reader Award Nominee * 2020-2021 Missouri Association of School
Librarians Mark Twain Readers Award Preliminary Nominee * 2020-2021
Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee * 2021 Connecitcut Nutmeg
Book Award Middle Grade Nominee *
