I read this book right after "All the Light We Can Not See" - a book with teenagers as protagonists. Here, the protagonist is a nine year old boy living in a small hardscrabble hamlet in southern Italy, sometime in what I would guess to be the 1960s-70s.
Recommended by my son, I dove in. At first, I said - "who cares about these kids playing and daring each other?" But, about halfway through there is a big reveal and the story got much more interesting. The author judiciously drips out plot developments to keep you going as you wonder how it will all turn out.
Three stars because I was dissatisfied by the ending - but other readers may have different opinions. A fast read and definitely an interesting portrayal of the southern, poor, Italian rural scene.