I chose to read this book, because it seemed to be a little outside of my usual realm of book choices. The story is set during the Great Depression and is the story of 14 year-old Collie who is looking for his older brother who has run away from home. Collie jumps trains in order to travel across the country, meeting lots of good and bad along the way. He becomes one of the thousands of men and boys who jumped trains during this period in history in search of work or as an escape from their own desperate times. Although the subject is certainly a somber one, Collie makes a friend Ike who helps to add some fun and real adventure, which lightens the story a little bit. The story was fascinating to me, and I found I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The author does a good job of painting a realistic picture of life on the rails. This is a wonderful survival/adventure/historical fiction/boy story!
Posted by: Mary
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