I was given this by my editor to show me what could be done in a mid-grade novel, and I'm bloody glad of it. Lawrence acknowledges her debt to Charles Portis, as well she should. True Grit is one of my favourite novels, and this is a worthy homage. Our young protagonist, PK, is half-Indian, autistic and on the run after their adoptive parents are horribly murdered by the deadly desperados. There follows a wild chase from the small town where PK lives via the back of a stagecoach, through the Chinese laundries, saloons, bordellos, newspaper offices, muddy streets and shops of Virginia to the bottom of a pitch-black mine-shaft, with a few rare pauses for breath to ponder the mystery of what they're after and why and encounter a few of the colourful folk living there, some considerably less trustworthy than others. Vividly entertaining, this manages to stay grounded while keeping things age-appropriate with a few sly wry nods to grown-up readers.