The Lucky Ones

This book is on the Great Stone Face List for 2023-24.  It is a story set in the 1960's South that centers around a young boy named Ellis Earl whose family is very poor.  As he struggles with a crowded, run- down house with no electricity, no food, and no room, he begins to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and finds comfort in his similarities to Charlie Bucket.  His teacher encourages them to be their best selves and reach for the stars.  Ellis Earl learns of a woman from Washington D.C who is shining light on the poverty in the South and he dreams of becoming a lawyer like her so he can help families like his.  When Bobby Kennedy does his tour of the South to see the conditions the lawyer was talking about, Ellis Earl meets him and pleads his case for those like him.  (FIC JAC)