FIRST OF ALL: PLEASE!!!!!
DO NOT WIKIPEDIA THIS BOOK OR RESEARCH IT IN ANY WAY!

I'm very passionate about that. This book loses it's magic if you don't allow yourself to get lost in it. So, please, don't try to read about it--don't even read the back cover! Just pick it up, start on page one, and get lost in it.

All I can tell you, some of which you will probably get from the cover:

It is the story of a boy in middle school and the people he interacts with. The boy has an intriguing eyesight disorder, he plays soccer, it takes place in Florida and does involve tangerines in a big (interesting) way. It involves freak accidents (and intentional horrors) that almost seem supernatural but at the same time so logical. It involves violence, crime, and death; beauty, knowledge, and virtue.

For a book written for middle-schoolers, it's phenomenal. It was the most moving book I had ever read at age 13, and I promise it still ranks in my top 5 ever. It was the first book (one of few ever) to make me cry.

I'm sure if I re-read it now, the vocabulary would be below me, but the feelings would still be there (except for the fact that I now know all the secrets).

Speaking of vocabulary...
I have this strange talent (disorder?) where I remember where/when/how I learn words for the first time. ALCOVE. I had never heard the word 'alcove' before reading this, and now I will never forget it. Does it play an important role in this book? NOT AT ALL. Not in the slightest. It probably only appears once, but hey, that was enough to learn it and yeah... enough.

I did learn one other word in this book but it is important, and I can't tell you. It will ruin some of the magic.

PLEASE...read it. Don't try to find anything more out. Just Read It.