ldquo;It is fast-moving and often downright funny.rdquo;mdash;New York Times160;ldquo;He has recaptured childish innocence and presented it with adult enlightenmentmdash;plus a touch of cynicismmdash;yet never with irreverence.rdquo; mdash;Book-of-the-Month Club News160;First confession and its terrors. Eighty-four first graders in a classroom ruled by just one nun. The agony and the ecstasy of Lent. The dubious honor of being declared the worst altar server ever. Dinah Shore and the Blessed Virgin haunting your dreams. This is Eddie Ryanrsquo;s world as he grows up in the intensely Catholic world of South-Side Chicagorsquo;s St. Bastionrsquo;s parish in the 1950s. In this classic coming-of-age novel, John Powers draws readers into Eddie Ryanrsquo;s world with deep affection and bittersweet humor.