I enjoyed this book, but it was incredibly depressing. I've read depressing southern memoirs before, but never one for kids this young that had so much adult content. The main character's age is somewhat misleading because this is definitely not a book for anyone under 14. ( )

This is one of those YA books where the author really puts you deep inside the narrator, and in doing so gives that narrator an unforgettable voice, one that is so honest and true that you feel like the character is alive. Some first-person YA novels feel skeletal in that you sense that you're not really seeing or feeling or knowing everything that the narrator is experiencing. In my reading experience, the books that transcend this type of limited first-person viewpoint are rare. A few that spring immediately to mind are The Book of Fred, The Reappearance of Sam Webber, and some book that for the life of me I cannot remember the title of even though it was totally awesome (I think it was set in some bleak midwestern state and it was the first book I thought of when I started reading this book). I thought of that other book for two reasons: one, there was a similarity in the two narrators' voices; and two, both books feature some sort of man-made formation that figures prominently in the story. In this book, it's obviously a sand mountain. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was in the other book, but I think it was also something big and tall like a mountain. If this rings any bells for anyone, please suggest possible titles as I would like to re-read the book (a rare inclination for me). Whew, this review really got off-course... ( )

In 1966, 12 year old Dewey is small for his age. In seventh grade in the junior-senior high school he is bullied by two seniors but dosn't want to tell anyone. His only friend is a girl who is just as lonely as he is. During this year, Dewey learns about his town, its residents, racism and something about his own family. ( )

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

It's 1966 and there is still a lot of racial tension and discrimination in this small Florida town. The Vietnam war is in high gear, and Dewey Turner has many personal issues to deal with.

Dewey desperately wants to be the "Shoeshine Boy" in next year's minstrel show at school, but dying his face with black shoe polish turns out to be the wrong thing to do because it won't wash off. The kids start calling him Sambo, and then the bullies won't let him use the bathroom that they have labeled "Whites Only," and continue to do so long after the shoe polish wears off.

He is ostracized by his classmates, picked on by bullies, and his father deals out discipline with his belt.

Dewey's brother, Wayne, is the only person willing to talk to him besides another outsider, Darla Turkel. Darla is a bouncy, Shirley Temple look-alike who befriends Dewey.

His problems escalate when his dad sends him and Wayne into Boogerbottom, the black section of town, to deliver campaign posters - and they run into more trouble than they can handle.

DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN is an authentic look back in history, and a riveting chronicle of the emotional issues of being a teenager. It does introduce some sexual complications in a couple of scenes that I thought should have been omitted - the story is great without those problems.

Overall, though, this is a fast-paced story filled with the emotional roller-coaster of teen angst. The characters are realistic and compelling. It is a complex story that is by turns funny, sad, lonely, and sometimes frightening, but one thing is for sure: it will stay with you long after the last page is finished. ( )