This is a heartwarming story of friendship and the impact of a great teacher. Maybe it was because I read this over my lunch breaks and it took more than a month, but I had trouble keeping the three narrators straight. I also found myself impatient with the number of flashbacks, wishing for the immediate action to continue. I wonder if I'm like a kid in these ways? 
 I also struggled a bit with the part where the boys are in the alleyway. They showed incredibly bad and dangerous judgement in a story where most decisions were at least well-intended, though sometimes bad. That scene seemed just scary dumb and unnecessary on their parts. 
 I couldn't get my own fifth-graders at home to pick this up. Not sure why, though, except they don't really like sad books, and there's definitely some sadness in here, as the title and dust jacket already imply.