Billy Baggs is a quintessential fourteenyear-old: mistrusting of authority, begrudging in his attitude toward his father, uncertain about his feelings for girls but eager to figure it out, moody, brash, and touched still by an innocence that allows events to constantly surprise him. Billy's economic status as a poor farm boy defines and separates him from many of his classmates and creates rivalries with the wealthier boys. In addition, the fact that Billy is poorer than many of the other people in his community creates a chip on Billy's shoulder that makes him brash and sullen. However, this sullenness is buoyed by Billy's genuine kindness toward his mother and toward the family's farm animals, and further tempered by the dedication Billy shows to his jailed father, his farm team, and to the farm itself. He does his work, and he does not complain, nor...