Vernon Dibbs is finding junior high tough. The grades that come so easily to others elude him, despite earnest struggles and extra hours of study; he feels he lost the one person who considered him in any way special when his mother suddenly passed away two years ago. Then acquaintance with alcoholic Maxine and her retarded son Ronald leads to some tutoring work, and soon he is also involved in a money-making scheme to send Ronald to the Special Olympics; the solutions to Vernon's problems seem to be within his grasp, and his confidence soars. If the lesson that kindness begets kindness needs to be repeated, this book is all heart; its bittersweet best moment comes when Maxine, aware of her limitations, parts with Ronald so that he can receive better care. A quiet, winning story of a boy and his community making small gains through large efforts. (Fiction. 10+)
