From Kirkus: "Heartening and hopeful, a love letter to black male youth grasping the desires within them, absorbing the worlds around them, striving to be more otherwise than ordinary. Please share."

Very wholesome, funny, endearing book. ( )

I love, love, love this. It reminded me of Maniac Magee in the best way (and it’s not super problematic like Maniac). I’m hoping, betting, guessing it gets major award love. ( )

I just loved it. I could tell from early on how things were going to end, but the journey to getting there was great. There's a hidden dual perspective here, you definitely see from the kids' perspective, Caleb in particular, but also from the parents' when they realize Styx needs love but guidance. I thought the boys trying to sell their sister to the neighborhood used-to-be bully was super funny too. The foreshadowing is well-thought-out here, and it cooks until the bread of the finale is fully-baked.

Also, I enjoyed the whole cast of characters, especially Caleb. He wants to be more, to be special and cool. His dad is fine with constricting his sons to their little town and not letting them explore. When Caleb meets Styx, the older boy immediately becomes like his idol.

My only nitpick is the slang. Fo shizzle, off the hook, etc are used, and it left me thinking what time period is this? But the book references Steven Universe which is fairly recent. I know the boys are country and Styx favors old-timey talk, but the slang was too dated.

I loved the Mr. Pike and Styx revelation. Styx is hardheaded, but he secretly cared about Mr. Pike and even remembered how much he loved to collect lunchboxes. Mr. Pike loved Styx too but thought when he ran away that CPS had took him. ;__; ( )

Great read -- all the boy summer adventures, a new friend with a hard past, and the tween testing of defiance. I feel like the lessons learned were good ones, on all sides. The characters were solid and engaging. Good stuff. ( )