Kenny Watson has a normal life in Flint, Michigan. He has finally made a friend and he excels at school. While his father, mother, and younger sister are a little strange it's his older brother Bryon, "By", who creates the biggest commotion. By is a trouble maker. Never so much as to really be in trouble, but it seems he is always up to something. Overall life is pretty good but once By really gets into it the entire family will be uprooted- even if for only the summer. The Watsons travel to Birmingham, Alabama to visit Kenny's very southern grandmother. What begins as a fun filled family vacation becomes a nightmare when the family comes face to face with the racial issues on the deep south. Will the family learn to adapt to things away from Flint, Michigan or will some of them return home never to be the same?
In his usual fashion, Curtis creates characters that while years apart from today's readers they are every bit as relate-able as if they were in the current time period. Kenny still struggles to make friends, he tries to walk a fine line between excelling in school while trying to blend in, and his older brother has the possibility to make his life really difficult. Readers may not have to deal with the civil issues the Watsons' face but they can understand what it means to be a little different and some readers may even know what it is to face a tragedy as a family and the changes that happen afterwards. This book is an obvious choice for middle school teachers looking for a way to introduce segregation.
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