num_pages: 176
description: America, 1955. For a 16-year-old boy out in the world alone for the first time, every day's an education in the hard work and boredom of migrant labor; every day teaches him something more about friendship, or hunger, or profanity, or lust--always lust. He learns how a poker game, or hitching a ride, can turn deadly. He discovers the secret sadness and generosity to be found on a lonely farm in the middle of nowhere. Then he joins up with a carnival and becomes a grunt, running a ride and shilling for the geek show. He's living the hard carny life and beginning to see the world through carny eyes. He's tough. Cynical. By the end of the summer he's pretty sure he knows it all. Until he meets Ruby.
language: English
title: The Beet Fields
titlecomplete: The Beet Fields
genres: Fiction, Coming Of Age, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Banned Books, Historical Fiction, Adult, Middle Grade
ratings_count: 534
places: North Dakota
awards: awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Rhode Island Teen Book Award
publisher: Red Fox