Tobin (7th grade) lives with his widower father and three older siblings. Nobody keeps up the house or the yard, and the kitchen is usually empty. After his mother died, everyone just let things go to pot. His maternal grandmother, eccentric in her own right, is his best and only friend. But then Henry comes along. Henry is a fellow student who drafts Tobin to assist him and his brother in a chicken farming enterprise. Henry's little brother, Harrison, is mainly interested in profit, but Henry is more interested in proving that chickens have souls.
To his surprise, Tobin finds that he likes having his peculiar friend, and he begins to like the chickens too. He starts taking more interest in school, and life in general.
But then his grandmother reports his father to social services, saying he lives with an unfit parent.
Tobin, his father, and his grandmother all have things to learn about being a family. But Henry and the chickens remain steady. ( )

This 2007 Dorothy Canfield Fisher award nominated book is an engaging story of a 7th grade boy and his family and school life through hard times. This would be a great read for students to either gain an understanding of how a fellow student might end up in foster care and why as well as the difference in economic spectrums from which different kids come. As a chicken-loving adult, I enjoyed the love of chickens portrayed in this quick read. ( )

I wanted the retro red & gold silhouette cover, but got this, with the photo of the boy with the puppy-dog eyes, instead.  Good story, but a little workmanlike, with some implausible bits, and not as quite as special & fresh as the other cover.  I definitely want to know Henry and Harrison better, though.  Btw, Henry is a vegetarian (well, almost, he does eat fish.  And eggs, of course). ( )

Booktalk:
My name is Tobin and I know what all the kids in 7th grade think of me. #1: I'm a McCauley, so I must be white trash and a future criminal. #2: my Granny is the lady in town that everyone laughs at because of all the nutty things she does, so I might be crazy. #3: Everything in school is hard for me, so perhaps I'm stupid. What they don't know, is that ever since my mom died, I been really lonely. Since she died, my dad doesn't even pretend to care about me. And my brothers and sister ignore me too. I've got no friends. Well, that is, until Henry, the new boy in town, sees me defend our English teacher. Now he's offerin' to make me a partner in his chicken-raising business. And you know what? You can learn a lot about life from a chicken. ( )

Good southern coming-of-age book for middle school boys. The characters occasionally seemed a little mature for their ages, but likeable none-the-less. I don't know why the mother always has to die in boy's coming of age stories, but it does seem to be an over-riding theme including this book. A custody battle, although not bad, between the main character's father and grandmother is a central theme as well as raising chickens and whether or not chickens have souls and friendship. Oddly it all ties together and works. I ejoyed this one and will recommend it. ( )