Junebug and the Reverend — Alice Mead

Junebug is set to leave all his old problems behind when his family moves from the projects to a better neighborhood. But new problems crop up when he runs into school bullies and has trouble making new friends. His younger sister, Tasha, quickly fits in and makes friends with the tenants in their building, a group home for the elderly that their mama supervises.

When summer vacation starts, Junebug's lazy-day plans are squashed when Mama tells him to take walks with cranky old Reverend Ashford every day and play soccer with the very same school bullies that beat him up. Is this any way to spend summer vacation? Little does Junebug know that there are some lessons you don't learn in school.