In general, I love coming-of-age stories. This book was no exception, especially because I really loved the main character, 17-year old Everett Lindt. Everett lives with his parents, his younger brother, Jay (12) and his younger sister, Katie (7). They live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan outside Sault Ste. Marie. Everett's family lives on a sheep farm, where the Lindts have lived for generations. They breed "show lambs". They have 60 ewes and one ram and generally end up with roughly 60 surviving lambs each season. They sell the show lambs to other people (to show) and keep some for themselves to show. Everett trains his lamb to stand correctly and feeds it quality food to fatten it up, with the intention of winning the grand champion heavyweight plaque. If your sheep is chosen as grand champion, it will bring the best price (because it has the best cuts of meat). Having a Lindt lamb chosen as grand champion, or even reserve champion (2nd place), is good for the Lindt family and their reputation for sheep breeding as well. Unfortunately, the sheep show doesn't result in a win for Everett. His sheep actually wins 3rd place (which means nothing to him & his dad). The grand champion and reserve champion are two lambs owned by sisters, whose family decided to buy their lambs from a different state instead of from the Lindts. Their lambs are "leaner", meaning they will provide leaner cuts of meat. Everett tries to convince his dad that times are changing and that people want to buy leaner meat, not fatter meat (which presumably has more flavor). They have a stand-off about it and Everett decides he needs to buy his own ram and start breeding his own lambs.
Meanwhile, Everett falls for the new girl in town, Mary, who initially turns him down for even a date. Everett's best friend is Charlie and they have been best friends since they were 5 years old. Charlie's family owns a hog farm. Everett and Charlie do everything together. They fish, they work, they go to school together. This is the summer of change however. Charlie gets a girlfriend, which impacts his relationship with Everett. Everett learns some hard lessons about buying and owning his own sheep. He struggles with feelings he has (insecurities) about his own value in his family. (His parents got married young because they got pregnant with him. His dad makes comments like, "Don't make the same mistakes I did", which results in Everett feeling like a "mistake".) He struggles with supporting his little sister as she learns that the lamb she bottle-fed, raised and loves will be sold for slaughter. He does end up in a relationship with Mary and has to learn how to navigate the complexities of loving a girl who can't wait to leave Sault Ste. Marie while his future is sheep farming, which is deeply embedded in his soul.
Everett makes mistakes, learns to stand up for himself, loves deeply, and always tries to do the right thing, even if it's not what he wants. He warmed my heart.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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