Akron Public Library

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy name Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truck-load of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it. For six weeks...

Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table. Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley,...

Roxie is keeping a secret from her fellow campers--a blankie that she keeps hidden but wants desperately every time Lucy, a big, mean poodle, causes trouble.

Inspired by the author's own childhood in rural Arkansas, this moving story follows one boy's journey from innocence to experience. Luke Chandler, 7, lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. During the harvest, he sees and hears things no child could possibly be prepared for and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever....