Sitting on Top of the World

Product Description Fourteen-year-old June Baker never in a million years thought she’d be dressing like a boy, sneaking into a hobo camp, and jumping onto a moving freight train to travel across the state of Tennessee. But that’s what she has to do to find work so her family’s farm can survive.It’s 1933, and the Great Depression is spreading misery throughout America. Where once June was sitting on top of the world, now she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Once she was picking fruit from the pawpaw trees, and now she’s picking up the pieces of a family torn apart. Once she was climbing and falling from trees, and now she’s jumping from moving trains.June knows the risks. What she doesn’t know is that the railroad bull she’s falling for has a devastating secret that will change the course of her life.Journey with June in Sitting on Top of the World, a historical fiction tale about family, friendship, love, loss, and hope.Sitting on Top of the World bridges the gap between middle grade and young adult and is a book that middle school and high school teachers can be proud to include in their classroom library or in reading instruction.Content warning: Some instances of physical violence, death, mention of suicide, mention of miscarriage, and characters encounter racial bigotry. Review "A rich and robust read sure to warm your heart and brighten your winter - or any season. This one's a keeper!This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, full of pathos and power. The writing is top-notch and features strong, solid characters. I've read scores of fiction and non-fiction titles set during the Great Depression. Sitting on Top of the World is a stunner. It represents a towering achievement, especially for a first novel." -- Reedsy Discovery, ★★★★★"An incredible young adult historical fiction to rival Tom Sawyer." -- The Historical Fiction Company, ★★★★1/2"King's moving debut, a historical coming-of-age story, follows young June Baker and her family in Maynardville, Tennessee, at the height of the Great Depression. Overall, a page-turning, heart wrenching, occasionally thrilling read about one family's struggle to survive. Great for fans of Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds, Lauren Wolk's Echo Mountain, Jojo Moyes's The Giver of Stars."-- BookLife by Publishers Weekly, Editor's Pick"Magnificently blending a story of misfortune with an inspiring tale of human ingenuity, Sitting on Top of the World is a superb intro to the events of the Great Depression for young readers. June is a courageous, relatable character whose strong first-person perspective and distinctive voice help set this novel apart from others that take place during this time period. Perhaps the biggest strength of the novel is King's complex and astute perspective on racism in the 1930s United States. All told, this is an original, meaningful, and powerfully told novel that will satisfy readers of any age." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★2022 First Horizon Award Winner2022 Winner in Young Adult2022 Grand Prize Finalist-- Eric Hoffer Book Awards From the Author Quotes from the book: "This Depression's bleedin' us dry, and we're runnin' outa time.""Bein' strong and tough don't mean you don't ever fall down. It means when you fall down, you get right back up and try again.""The only way we get meat nowadays is to sell somethin', trade somethin', or shoot somethin'.""Sometimes prayers ain't answered in the way you want 'em to be.""Never in a million years could I have pictured all that's gone on since that June day in 1930 when I first saw the line of folks at the bank.""It's funny how a whole town that's been starvin' and standin' in line for free food can come together like this for people that's sufferin'." About the Author Cheryl King is the award-winning author of Sitting on Top of the World and is now working on a sequel. By day, she is a dyslexia therapist in the great state of Texas. She loves reading, writing, and chocolat