Sons from Afar (The Tillerman Series #6)

Beautifully written, as always. When I read this one initially, I was thrilled to peer inside Sammy and James' lives- finally! We've learned all about Jeff, Mina, Dicey, and Bullet. It's Sammy and James' turn to work out their own demons. Very satisfying.

James and Sammy Tillerman couldn’t be more different: brainy James struggles to make friends and tends to overthink things, while athletic Sammy enjoys wide popularity but can be kind of thoughtless. One thing they do have in common is Francis Verriker, the father who abandoned their family

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before Sammy was even born. Sammy says the only reason he’d want to meet Francis would be to punch him in the face, but James has questions about why he is the way he is, and he wonders if meeting his father would give him some answers. He pulls unwilling Sammy into the quest, and when James’ interest flags, Sammy keeps the search on track. But can two teenagers with limited resources find a man who obviously doesn’t want to be found?

While this isn’t going to take a place among my favorites, it’s a solid entry in the series, recommended if you’ve gotten this far. The character development is top notch.

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Book six in the Tillerman series, is told from the dual perspectives of Sammy and James. James is now 16, Sammy 12.
James begins to wonder about their father, and convinces Sammy to go along with him on a quest of sorts to see what he can find out about the man they never knew. Sammy doesn't care,

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but is willing to humor James. They find out a little... but not much. About the time James decides their father isn't much worth finding out about, Sammy begins to wonder, and the two take off in a different direction, leading to an alarming encounter (and I think the least plausible encounter in the entire series so far) when the two boys attempt to question a burly, half-drunken sailor about their father. The best moments in the book are when the two wildly different brothers are inwardly comparing themselves to each other.
Much better than "The Runner," which was a distinctly unpleasant book in the series, but not up to par with "Homecoming," "Dicey's Song," or "Come a Stranger" either.

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Rich, thoughtful, and nuanced.

It would be a five-star read if not for a strange weight-loss minor theme that I could have done without.