This novel is a very sweet story about a seventeen year old boy growing up in 1941 / 1942. We watch Jim as he goes through the uncertainty of breaking up with his first girlfriend, then as he falls wildly in love with his second. The novel is set in North Carolina during Jim\'s senior year in high school... so you can only guess what happens when Pearl Harbor thrusts its ugly face into the scene! I found the characters to be very realistic and accurate; I especially thought the portrayal of Jim and his friends was authentic and real. Prejudice, wartime fervor and fears, a mother\'s love for her son, a boy\'s love for his girl ... all make for a very good read.