Chicken Boy by Frances O'Roark Dowell

I just finished Chicken Boy by Frances O’Roark Dowell. It is another Rebecca Caudill 2008 Nominee. Tobin McCauley, a somewhat troubled seventh grader who has remained on the outside circle in school, is changed after he makes a new friend, Henry, who thinks that chickens hold the key to the meaning of life. Tobin’s family life is not exactly the greatest: his mother died from cancer five years earlier, there is barely ever food in his house, and his dad and grandma do not get along. Tobin’s life is about to take an interesting turn, and will he be prepared for it?
At first, I thought the book was a little slow, but after getting to know the characters in the book, especially Tobin, I really enjoyed it.
Have you read Chicken Boy? Did you like it? Why or why not?
If you liked reading Chicken Boy, you might want to read other books by Frances O’Roark Dowell, including: Dovey Coe, The Secret Language of Girls, and Where I’d Like to Be.

A couple other good farm-related fiction reads are: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Taking Wing, by Nancy Price Graff , Tough Nut to Crack, by Tom Birdseye