I remember my best friend raving about this one when we were younger. I don't know why her enthusiasm about it didn't prompt me to read it. She even had a copy that I could have easily borrowed. Let's just say that it is a classic for a reason. I didn't love it as much as I probably would have at the middle school age, but I still saw value in it despite being old and worn. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking with great narrative style. I'm going to start sounding like a broken record with my middle school reviews, but I think it is SO important for the middle grade protagonists to tell their own story rather than having an outside narrator. It makes the emotions and events so much more powerful and honest. This is pulled off wonderfully with this one. I also listened to the author interview that was a tandem interview with her son. It was additionally impactful to learn that this story was loosely based on her son's personal experience as a young child. Got me right in the feels.