First published 2018
Twelve-year-old Charlie's world collapses when his sharecropper father dies in Possum Moan, South Carolina. Cap'n Buck, the town's most dangerous man, arrives to collect what the family owes. Charlie faces a terrible choice: certain death or a risky deal. He agrees to hunt down people Cap'n Buck claims are thieves. The arrangement seems manageable until Charlie tracks down his targets and learns who they really are. His discovery forces him into an impossible position. His conscience wars with his need to survive. Cap'n Buck grows suspicious, and time runs short. Charlie must decide what kind of person he wants to be when the stakes couldn't be higher. Curtis blends humor with serious moral questions as Charlie navigates one of history's darkest periods.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-allies, moral-dilemma, survival
Setting: Possum Moan, South Carolina
Period: 19th Century
256 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: racism, slavery, violence