Set in cold Sassy, Georgia, at the turn of the twentieth century, Olive Ann Burn’s book tells the story of one year in the life of the narrator, Will Tweedy. The novel shows the changes in the attitudes of Will Tweedy as he grows closer to adulthood. Despite the coming-of-age theme in the book, the fourteen-year-old narrator allows his insecurities to blind him to the hardships of another teenage boy named Hosie Roach.