This is the third book in the Baker’s Mountain Series by an author who lives in Hickory, North Carolina, near a real Baker’s Mountain. The year is 1941, and the protagonist, Junior Bledsoe, lives with his grandfather and mother now that his abusive father has died. Junior’s friend Catfish is full of ideas, but they aren’t always very helpful. "In this pre-World War II companion to the novels Blue (2006) and Comfort (2009), 14-year-old Junior Bledsoe fights personal battles at home as America's entry into the war grows imminent.... Hostetter creates a vivid sense of time and place in her early-1940s rural North Carolina setting and a fully realized, sympathetic character in Junior.... An absorbing, well-crafted coming-of-age story with finely detailed historical background." - Kirkus Reviews. "A boy grappling with life-changing decisions, unlikely friendships, and what it means to be a man is at the soul of this story... The year is 1941, and news of World War II simmers in the background... Hostetter's well-crafted turn of phrase and timely humor all add to the richness of the era. A must-have for historical fiction collections." - School Library Journal. The author is a former special education teacher.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Calkins Creek/Highlights, a 2019 paperback reprints of a 2016 release. 288 pages. Trade paperback.