OH. MY. WORD. This book ... I don’t have words. Why did I wait so long to read it?? It’s so beautifully done. I love Holling and his growth over his 7th grade year. I love Mrs. Baker and how she invests in him. I love the humor, the Shakespeare references, the exploration of events (MLK Jr & Bobby Kennedy’s assassinations, Vietnam War, etc), the sibling relationship between Heather and Holling, the cutesy 7th grade relationships, the heart that this book has. I can’t find one thing I didn’t love about it. It made me laugh, cry, get mad (especially at Holling’s dad). I just loved it.

Side note, I listened to this entirely on audio and it was EXCELLENT! Maybe I would’ve loved it just as much physically, but the narrator does such a superb job and I feel like he adds a lot to it.