Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. But those troubles don't compare with grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about that day. Mason's new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, is the funny and philosophical partner who brings out the best in Mason. To escape relentless bullying by other neighborhood kids, the boys create a secret underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in deeper trouble. He's desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin, and eventually, Benny. But will anyone believe him? Leslie Connor, the acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, has created another warm and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope. -- From dust jacket.

Ages 8-12.

310L,Lexile.

Structure indicator: 90 (high),Syntactic indicator: 60 (medium),Semantic indicator: 100 (very high),Decoding indicator: 90 (high),Lexile.

Accelerated Reader AR,MG,2.7,8,193450.

In English.

A Junior Library Guild selection (JLG.)

ALSC Notable Children's Book, 2019

Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers, 2018

Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature, 2018

National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, 2018

New York Public Library Best Books for Kids, 2018

Publisher's Weekly Best Middle Grade Book, 2018

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee, 2020

Schneider Family Book Award Winner for Middle School, 2019