Penrod and Sam

Here is a story about two boys and the summer that changed everything. Penrod Schofield and Sam Williams are eleven years old, best friends, and completely certain that their elaborate schemes and secret societies matter enormously to someone, though it's never quite clear to whom. Together they navigate the treacherous waters of childhood: the crush on the girl across the street, the rival gang on the other side of the alley, the grown-ups who never understand anything. Booth Tarkington writes with a sharpness that makes you forget you're reading about kids - these are fully realized human beings, with their own logic, their own code of honor, their own particular tragedies and triumphs. The book endures because it remembers what adults forget: that being young was serious business, that a scraped knee could feel like the end of the world, and that your best friend knew you completely. This is a portrait of childhood that has outlived its era because childhood itself never changes.