We picked this book for my local book club and what a great read! Sam Hill was born with a condition known as ocular albinism which causes the color of the irises in your eyes to be red. This caused many issues for him as a child such as bullying and being called “Devil boy” by his classmates at Catholic school. However, his mom always told him his eyes would make him extraordinary.

The book is told in two timeframes, when he’s a child through high school and when he’s an adult years later. In grammar school he meets his two lifelong best friends, Ernie, the only African American kid in his school, and Mickie, a misunderstood girl who just fits in with Sam and Ernie perfectly when she moves to their school. They will be with Sam throughout the book and help with his growth and opening his eyes to accepting who he is.

Wow! What a fantastic book. I loved both timelines and the transitions between the two. The author did an amazing job of bringing them together seamlessly. Sam’s life as a child was hard, but he had so much support from his father and especially his mother throughout. I loved their relationship. My favorite character was definitely Mickie. She’s spunky and true to herself and loves Sam in a way no one else does. It’s unconditional and she protects him as a friend throughout the book.

This is definitely a book everyone should read. It’s a coming of age story that touches your heart and really makes you see that how we treat people has an impact on them. Make sure you have a box of tissues nearby though because the ending had me bawling.