Jim the Boy II

I just found out that one of my favorite books has a forthcoming sequel! Tony Earley has heard the secret wishes of my reading heart and has written the further adventures of Jim from his stellar Jim the Boy.

I'm so excited I want to use lots and lots of exclaimation points!!

A few years back I had an article in Bookmarks magazine (Nov/Dec 2005 issue) where I said Jim the Boy was a "deceptively simple story of a boy being raised by his mother and her many brothers in North Carolina during the Great Depression." When I'm handselling it I usually add it's one of those books you read and think "that was nice" then it hits you like a ton of bricks a few days later. It's definately one you never have to worry about someone coming back and saying, "You know that book you recommended to me? What a pile of crap.." In fact, the editor of Bookmarks said it was that particular title I cited that caught his eye in my submission.

Apparently the new book tells the story of Jim's first love in the days before World War II and, if I didn't trust Earley completely, I might be worried. Some reading and viewing experiences (To Kill a Mockingbird to name just one) are so special and so singular that they should just be let alone. But I trust the new book will be good and I can't wait to read it. I had to come home sick today and this news made for very cheering medicine.