Over and Under by Todd Tucker is set in the small town of Borden, Indiana where the number one employer is the Borden Casket Company. When the workers go on strike, it affects the whole town. Two young friends, Andy and Tom, are spending the last days of summer doing their favorite activities which means time spent in the surrounding woods exploring the many caves of the area. Tom is the son of a union worker while Andy’s father is in management but the two boys don’t know how this fact is going to divide them in the days to come.

Two workers go too far and set a bomb off at the factory, which not only blows a hole in the back of the building but also kills a manager. Everyone thinks the bombers have left the area but the two boys are convinced that they are hiding out in the woods or caves. They decide to track them down. Tom thinks of helping them, while Andy thinks of informing the sheriff where he can lay hands on them. As tensions mount the company brings in outside workers and armed security guards. The owners of the business are talking about closing the factory down as it is becoming more of a hassle and less of a money maker.

Over and Under is a story of family, friendship and community. As the two boys struggle to understand what is going on and where their loyalties should lie, they are also getting more involved in things that are leading them into danger. The backdrop to the story, that of a bitter labour strike makes for a coming-of-age story that is both nuanced and expressive. ( )

Fourteen year old best friends Andy and Tom have known each other all of their lives growing up in the small town of Borden, Indiana. It is the 1970's and the two boys roam the countryside exploring woods and caves and always carrying their beloved Springfield M6 Scout rifles, known as an "over and under". Their fathers work at the local casket company, Andy's father in management and Tom's dad in the plant itself. The union workers have gone on strike causing widespread discord in Borden but making for the most exciting summer Andy and Tom could ever imagine. The quiet of the Indiana afternoon is shattered one day when an explosion blows out the back of the casket company and the two boys, who are not supposed to be anywhere near the strikers, see two men running away from the blast into the woods. When it is found that a casket company executive was inside the plant and was killed during the explosion the seriousness of the strike takes on new dimensions. Tom and Andy decide to spend their time searching for "the bombers" but what they find instead is a town that is ready to rip apart at the seams due fear and suspicion and the two boys will lose their boyish innocence during the sweltering heat of summer.

The two boys are very likeable and they have quite inventive and adventurous minds. The story was not quite what I had expected though. I had thought it was going to be a mystery but there was never any question as to who the culprits were; it was more a question of who would find them first - the boys or the police. Fortunately it was fairly short and quick to read.
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Andrew Jackson Gray tells of his growing up in the 1970s in small town Borden, Indiana, of his friendship with Thomas Jefferson Kruer, and of the strike at the Borden Casket Company that occurred the year during the boys' thirteenth year.

Twelve year old Andy and Tom are best friends, they spend all their spare time together playing, fishing and generally being adventurous and mischievous in woods that surround Borden. One of the highlights of their year is the gift they each receive of a Springfield M-6 Scout rifle from their respective fathers, a gift which which opens up new adventures for them and enables them to hone the already very good shooting abilities.

However their fathers both work for the Borden Casket Company, Tom's on the shop floor, Andy's as management, yet the strike at the company that year does not affect their friendship, and their parents would not even imagine suggesting any such thing to them. As the boys do their best to understand what is going on, their inquisitiveness gets them more involved in the dispute than is good for them, tests their loyalties to the limits, and ultimately puts them in serious danger.

Over and Under is an involving and warm story of friendship and loyalty. It extends beyond the friendship of the two boys touching on how the friendships of others are also affected. It is also about Borden and the countryside around the small town, the author's interest in history apparent in the intertwining of factual references within the story. But the heart of the story is Andy and Tom's friendship, and it is portrayed as one that is trusting, loyal and based on a thorough understanding of each other.

The characters are well drawn, and the locality beautifully described. Andy's father is methodical and caring, clearly proud of his son; his mother is involved in feminist activities and mysteriously involved with the local sheriff in matters that will eventually come to light. If I have a reservation it is that it took a long time for Tom to emerge as a fully fledged character, and even then I felt he was never quite fully developed.

However this is a beautiful story, and being told in retrospect it has the advantage that it closes with the brief details of what eventually happens to the two boys as they live on into adulthood. ( )

When the local casket company workers go on strike during the summer of 1979, twelve-year-old best friends Andy and Tom learn that their fathers represent opposite sides of the strike. They are seasoned explorers of the caves and woods in their rural community. They own identical Springfield M-6 Scout rifles that they shoot with skill and accuracy. But during this watershed summer, their youthful adventures lead them into the unfamiliar and dangerous world of violence. : Over and Under is a beguiling novel about growing up in Southern Indiana in the last quarter of the 20th century. The first-person narrator gives an account of the adventures of two boys that would be the stuff of dreams, for many readers, and sets it against conflict in the adult community. Using detailed setting and likeable characters, the author creates an appealing story in this 2009 Alex Award Winner. ( )