Jim the Boy

A fatherless ten-year-old boy comes of age in a Depression-era, southern farming community in this charming and humorous debut novel.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

“Rich and satisfying . . . A novel that perfectly captures the innocence and confusion and wonder of childhood.” —Chicago Tribune

Hailed as one of those rare works with the power to enchant readers of all ages, this luminous novel tells the story of a boy growing up in a small North Carolina town during the Great Depression—at a time when America itself was young and struggling to come into its own.

“Rich, knowing, pitch-perfect. . . . A swift, lovely book.” —The New York Times

“A dazzling first novel. . . . The apparent casualness of the plot masks extraordinary craft.” —Newsweek

A graceful, poignant story of a fatherless farm boy . . . Jim the Boy is the perfect antidote for the Virtual Age. It’s subtle. It’s stripped down. It’s set close to the earth. . . . It’s also daring and, often, laugh-out-loud funny.” —Austin American-Statesman