In Marysville, Doug is fascinated by The Birds of America, a book illustrated by John James Audubon, on display under glass at the local library.

Lil's father owns a deli, and hires Doug as a delivery boy, which lets him get to know other residents of Marysville.

Doug improves his relationship with his gym coach by helping him in class and introducing him to Lucas, who suffers similarly with memories of the war.

Over time, Doug gains the support and trust of people in Marysville, which allow him to face problems with confidence and hope.

In order, they are: Schmidt stated "I have always made fun of authors who say they had to write a sequel because there were characters they couldn’t get out of their heads, but now I have to take back all those truly horrible things I said."

[2][3] Writing for The New York Times, author Richard Peck said the novel "is crowded with more incident and empowerment than any eighth-grade year or novel can quite contain" but praised its emotional weight.

[4] Augusta Scattergood, reviewing for the Christian Science Monitor, called the novel "often heartbreaking but always funny" and the audience "will also have discovered something important about the capacity for love and the power of resiliency" by the end of the novel.