Aim

by Joyce Moyer Hostetter Narrated by Mark Sanderlin

Overview

While people are celebrating Yankee Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak and worrying about being drawn into World War II, fourteen-year-old Junior Bledsoe is dealing with his abusive father's death and his cantankerous grandfather who lives with
them. Consumed by unanswered questions surrounding his father's death, Junior begrudgingly makes friends with a boy named Catfish, who promises to help him find some answers. But the road they take comes with trouble. And “borrowing”
the neighbor's car late at night without permission is just the beginning. In this gripping coming-of-age novel, a boy with a difficult past courageously confronts this wrong and begins to heal and to forgive.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A boy grappling with life-changing decisions, unlikely friendships, and what it means to be a man is at the soul of this story... Hostetter's well-crafted turn of phrase and timely humor all add to the richness of the era. A must-have for historical fiction collections." — School Library Journal

"Set in the south in the early days of World War II, readers will find the times different, but not Junior's struggle to grow into a man. Young adults who enjoy historical novels...will appreciate Hostetter's attention to detail and the realistic way Junior reacts to the personal and political events around him...he learns his lesson about earning respect and overcoming generations of abuse to arrive at a sense of peace by the end of the book.' – VOYA

"In this pre-World War II companion to the novels Blue (2006) and Comfort (2009), 14-year-old Junior Bledsoe fights personal battles at home as America's entry into the war grows imminent.... Hostetter creates a vivid sense of time and place in her early-1940s rural North Carolina setting and a fully realized, sympathetic character in Junior.... An absorbing, well-crafted coming-of-age story with finely detailed historical background." — Kirkus Reviews

School Library Journal

07/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—A boy grappling with life-changing decisions, unlikely friendships, and what it means to be a man is at the soul of this story. Fourteen-year-old country boy Junior Bledsoe's life takes a turn for the worse when his father is found dead from drinking. The year is 1941, and news of World War II simmers in the background. Struggling to make sense of the new order of things and his place in the world, Junior yearns for respect in place of the sullied reputation his father left behind. He goes to school, labors around the farm, and does odd jobs to help pay the bills, but his cantankerous granddaddy, a newcomer to the family, doesn't recognize his worth. His father hated this man, and Junior starts to learn why. Consumed by unanswered questions surrounding his father's death, Junior begrudgingly makes friends with a boy named Catfish, and the road they take comes with trouble. But a question remains: What drove Junior's father to drink so much his last few years? The novel's historical details are so deftly intertwined with the story line that the work feels like a slice of time that has been recorded on paper. Hostetter's well-crafted turn of phrase and timely humor all add to the richness of the era. VERDICT A must-have for historical fiction collections.—Robyn Gioia, Antilles Middle School, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico

Kirkus Review

2016-07-26
In this pre–World War II companion to the novels Blue (2006) and Comfort (2009), 14-year-old Junior Bledsoe fights personal battles at home as America’s entry into the war grows imminent. Junior struggles with school and to control his anger at his alcoholic father, his insufferable grandfather, his neighbors, and himself. When his father dies after another night of drinking, Junior feels ever more desperate to understand himself and find his own aim in life. He finds relief from his troubles in escapes to the nearby woods and tinkering with cars. A fatherly neighbor provides some much-needed guidance, and a challenging teacher and troubled classmate help him find some direction. Hostetter creates a vivid sense of time and place in her early-1940s rural North Carolina setting and a fully realized, sympathetic character in Junior. She makes Junior choose how to handle the hard things that come his way, whether to be shaped negatively or positively by them. Over the course of the novel, a year passes after Junior’s father dies, and the story satisfyingly concludes with him confident and looking forward to the future. An author’s note explains the story’s historical context. An absorbing, well-crafted coming-of-age story with finely detailed historical background. (bibliography, further reading) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175007313
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Series:	Bakers Mountain Stories , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

“Ready. Aim. Fire!” That was Granddaddy talking. He followed up with a string of words I wouldn’t repeat.
His cussing woke me the rest of the way. I opened one eye. Straight ahead of me I saw Granddaddy’s knobby white feet dangling from the bed. His thick toenails looked like they hadn’t been trimmed since Granny died.
“It’s about time you rouse yourself. You fixin’ on sleeping through the war?”
I sat up. “Did the president declare war while I was sleeping?”
Granddaddy cussed again. “One of these days he’ll be forced to get himself a backbone.”
“Oh.” So we weren’t in the war yet after all. Granddaddy caught me up on the news. “Iceland. The Germans attacked an American ship. But we fired back. Yes siree! Wish I was on that ship. I’d blast those Krauts to Hades and back.” Granddaddy turned the radio up so I couldn’t miss the news even if I wanted to.
And part of me did want to. I wished I could wake up in the morning with nothing bigger than homework to worry about. I pulled the pillow over my head as if that would make the world and all its problems go away. If hiding under the covers would keep war from coming to America, I’d stay there all day.
Getting out of bed was hard anyway. These days nobody asked me how I was doing. Even if they had, I couldn’t have explained it. Pop had been gone almost two months and I should be used to it by now. But some days I still couldn’t believe he was dead. Except that he never came home. And I had to milk Eleanor twice a day and try to be the man of the house. And put up with Granddaddy.
He was still yelling about war. What would it be like to have my own bed back? And to dress in the morning in a little peace and quiet? Finally, after five minutes of him raving, I crawled out of bed. “Yeah. I wish you was on that ship too.”
I didn’t say it real loud, but he heard it. “You getting smart with me?” Granddaddy reached for his shoe. “You want war, I’ll show you war.”
Before I figured out what he was up to, that shoe came flying at my nose. “Whoa!” That hurt! “Granddaddy. I don’t want war.” I pulled my britches on, grabbed my shirt and shoes, and left the room.
“Heaven help!” said Momma. “Your nose is bleeding.” She wet a washcloth with cold water and clamped it against my face.
“That old man threw a shoe at me. I’m not going back in there. I’ll sleep on the porch first.”
“Of course you won’t sleep on the porch.” Momma lowered her voice. “Maybe we’ll put Granddaddy outside.” She snickered.
But she didn’t mean it. She’d moved him in and now that Pop was gone she didn’t want him anymore. But how could we get rid of him?

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