This book, which is very easy to read, won the Newberry Medal this past year. I have been reading young adult reading and two things about that. One is that they are faster to read, and they really resonate with issues that continue to be relevant well into adulthood. Another silver lining for me is that it got me back on the horse of reading more fiction written for adults. Not that I was doing a terrible job there, but not as good as I wanted, and a few YA novels and a couple of trips where I could read a whole book on a travel day really helped.
The focus of this book is bullies and how to manage when you become a target (and some thoughts that we can all relate to but aren't all that helpful as well). Virgil has a pet Guinea pig that he carries around in his backpack. So when a bully throws the pack down a dried up well shaft, Virgil goes in after to reclaim his pet. It can't really be called a rescue because then he himself is trapped, and it isn't until a band of similarly situated socially kids come to help out. It is uplifting without being too unrealistic.
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