Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsFunny and Serious Both
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2018
All the Watsons appealed to me, because they were all fully-fleshed, multi-dimensional characters. The plot was absorbing, with lots of funny lines. I learned new things from this book - especially what it must've been like to be near that terrible bombing when it occurred, and how vulnerable African American individuals were in that time and place. I wish the aftermath of the bombing would have been more a part of the story, rather than a terrible event near the end of the book. In fact, I would've given up some of the amusing antics earlier in the story, in exchange for finding out more about the bombing and its effects on Birmingham and on society. In addition, I was not completely convinced by the two episodes in which Kenny and Joey provided mysterious, other-worldly help to each other. I prefer that novels be either grounded in reality or obviously imaginary; I'm not excited about combining the two. But that's just me. I liked the Watsons, I liked Kenny, and I liked his story.
