He sells eggs from his uncle's farm with his mate Harry, aided by the shortages of wartime food rationing. His dad is an illegal bookie and Joe runs a book on the local billycart (trolley) races that he competes in, deliberately losing one to ensure a healthy profit.
It's a good life until his parents send him to a Catholic boarding school across the harbour. Its strict rules don't sit well with Joe and when a priest becomes overfamiliar he lashes out.
Sent to a reformatory Joe experiences another type of life, that of a country boy and the hard work that goes with it. Joe's story moves along at a good pace but is ultimately unsatisfying, as the reader is left guessing as to his further progress.
Ages 15+.
- René Nol is a Dunedin reader.
