The Rope Walk

Synopsis: Set in the summer time, this coming of age story is about a young, white girl named Alice. On her 10th birthday, she meets a young, black city boy named Theo.
Due to Theo's mother's depression, he is eventually forced to live with Alice and her family. They become closer friends, discovering about the world around them, and life itself. Most importantly, together, they learn about themselves, and grow to be who they are truly meant to be.

Review: I liked this book a lot. I thought it was entertaining, thought-provoking, and memorable.
I think the main reason why I liked this was because the author did a good job contextualizing childhood, innocence, and discovery in a realistic manner. It was all very believable, and did not seem in any way contrived. The way she wrote about the two main characters, Alice and Theo, was simply effortless. It was easy for me to picture them; how they were acting, thinking, and feeling. In a way, it's almost like I was sinking in to their world, and leaving mine. It's not often that an author can do that, at least for me. Mostly I believe this is because her writing fit just perfectly with every character and every word in the book. It was not difficult at all to see the scene she has painted.
Of course, there were some minor flaws. There were times that the descriptions seemed too much or that chapters became too wordy. Despite these little mistakes I would've liked to see gone, I still do recommend this very underrated book.