This is a tough, yet heartwarming, story about friendship, family, and the hard (and sometimes poor) choices we make to help each other out.

I enjoyed the contrast between safe and sheltered Gideon and worried and determined Roona as they developed a friendship that challenged them both.

The themes of this book are deep and sometimes troubling - but real nonetheless. Grimes does a nice job developing kid characters we can empathize with and a group of adults who really want what's best for their children even during the roughest of times.

There's lots of room for discussion here about how to be a friend and still get someone the adult help they need. A list of resources at the end would be a nice addition for kids struggling with what to do when a friend is in a harmful and scary situation.