Little Joe is an historical fiction novel that takes place in 1940s America. It’s the story of a 9-year-old boy who becomes an orphan when both parents die in a car crash. He is then taken in by his maternal grandparents who live on a farm in the small town of Round Rock, Tennessee.

There is not much plot, emotional exploration or depth of character in this novel. Little Joe wasn’t given a chance to grieve the loss of his parents and this loss factored in very little in the overall storyline. We get details of the day-to-day activities (farm life and school) and a string of interesting anecdotes of events that happened in the span of a year.

Having read a lot of middle grade fiction, this book felt like it was written for a young audience. Initially, I thought it was a little dry, but I forged on and the story as well as the characters did grow on me.

This is the first book in a 4-part series. I have a copy of The Trial of Dr. Kate, the second book in this series, and hope that it will offer more of a plot and story arc.

I received this via NetGalley for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. It was touching and sad in many places and brought tears to my eyes. But I recommend it. It’s a good story. Well written.

This is book one in the Round Rock series.

Little Joes life changes completely when his parents die in a car crash. He finds himself living on a farm with his grandparents. This is Joes story of living with his grandparents in the 1940s.

Although I’m not keen on reading about books from decades ago I thought this was a really well written and informative story. I’ll be watching out for this author in the future.