oh, wow. 
 ariel is going to be so cross with me - this betrayal is worse than my love of graceling. but it has to be said: i liked this book even better than the wednesday wars. 
 i gave them both 4 stars because i'm nutty like that, but i feel more for this character than for goody-gumdrops holling, even though i did love the wednesday wars a lot. 
 doug's obstacles are just so much greater than having to wear feathers on his b*tt, and while he remains eerily good-natured throughout his struggles, he does occasionally lash out in a way that feels realistic, even though considering how much he has had to endure, you would expect his reactions to be even stronger and more dramatic. 
 but this is not that kind of book. 
 despite the stakes being raised much higher in this one, the bottom line is still the same: people have something to offer, even people who seem completely inflexible, and everyone can be useful if you take the time to figure out where they are coming from and get past their prejudices or their seeming indifference or surface-meanness. it is about helping people and being helped in turn, but it isn't some feel-gooderie karma-novel. yes, it is about the importance of taking into consideration where people are coming from before you judge them or write them off, but it definitely isn't all sweetness and light. 
 this book, like the first, is full of inspirational-type adults. it is bursting with that small-town "it takes a village" mentality that is largely absent from modern life and storytelling. and it feels good. but it also touches on the other half of small-town living - how quickly gossip spreads and public opinion can turn the tide and treat even a kid with a cold shoulder when the gossip flows against his family. 
 also like wwars, it is about a kid learning about something and using it to see the world in a new way. with wwars, it was shakespeare, with this one, it is through art. which sounds facile, but schmidt really pulls it off. 
 a good deal of this book hinges on the problematic nature of perception, and how frustrating it is to be judged by the actions of one's family. doug comes from an abusive home, and this book has one of the most shocking acts of cruelty i have ever read, which i did not see coming at all. he has two brothers, one of whom is perceived as a hooligan, and accused of all manner of nefarious acts. the other has gone off to the vietnam war, and comes back greatly changed. his father has "fast hands," and regularly steals the few things doug treasures. compound that with having to move to a shabby house in a new town, and a serious academic liability, and it would be completely understandable if he became hard and cruel, or alternately retreated into himself and became a cowering mess. but he is neither. some people, when faced with early childhood trauma, emerge, not unscathed, but tempered by what they have had to endure and become devoted to righting injustices to shake off their feeling of powerlessness. 
 and that's what doug does. nothing grand, nothing precociously eye-rolling, but when mr powell, the inspirational librarian, begins to teach doug to draw, using an original of audubon's birds of america, and laments that some of the plates have been sold to help the town's finances, doug vows to get them back. 
 but that is only a portion of this novel, which gets bigger and bigger the more i reflect upon it. 
 the character of lucas was particularly well-done, and i felt for him the entire time he was on the page. just beautiful stuff. if only i could cry... 
 but, yeah -a great book. the ending was the only thing that prevented this from a five-star, it seemed like he wanted to throw in just one more obstacle and it felt imperfectly-done. but other than that- seriously - a phenomenal book. wow. 
 this was my third read for my readventurer challenge. 
 you ladies are so good at picking books for me!