Jim the Boy – Tony Earley

Jim the Boy made me want to go back and read L.M. Montgomery. Like Montgomery, Tony Earley creates a sweet, nuanced story that accurately captures both the experience of a child and the adults who surround him. Earley’s prose is straightforward and often simplistic, but when he uses metaphor, he does so with skill and purpose. The result is an enjoyable book that a kid would appreciate but which an adult understands on another level.

Jim is a kind, careful child. He also is prone to selfishness. His world is the world of a ten year old: he plays baseball, goes to school, competes with his rival, and worries about getting into trouble. He is just beginning to become aware of the world beyond his town, and the looming prospect of adulthood frightens him. Yet he is in capable, competent, loving hands and you have no doubt that he will be just fine.

Reading Jim the Boy requires a certain suspension of cynicism. If you can let go and appreciate the gentle voice, the innocent subject matter, then you will find the experience rewarding, even a relief.