Midget

Midget is used to being on his own: after an accident took the lives of his mother and two sisters, neither his father nor his aunt has had much time for him. Left to his own devices, he has managed to develop quite a talent for petty theft. But when his father is killed by a rival gang while secretly delivering beer to speakeasies, his thoughts are filled only with getting revenge at all costs. Will Speed and the boys from St. Leo's be able to save him from himself?

The second book in an action-packed series written by a Chicago priest who was chaplain at the County Jail in the 1930s, boys will love the story of Midget and his friends at the Catholic school who are not willing to turn their backs on him.

Born in Chicago in 1892, Raymond O'Brien studied for the Priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, MD and was ordained in 1921. He was then appointed teacher and spiritual advisor at the newly established Quigley Preparatory Seminary, where he taught high-school age boys who were considering the priesthood. During these difficult years of Prohibition and Depression, he became intimately familiar with the temptations and discouragement experienced by young men. He dedicated himself to this cause, establishing numerous youth groups at Blessed Sacrament Parish, where he was transferred in 1936, and where he was known never to turn away troubled youths. He also served as auxiliary chaplain at the Bridewell and County Jail. He was honored with the title of Monsignor in 1949 in recognition of his humanitarian work as well as his promulgation of the faith, and he died in October 1963, a most beloved pastor and friend of boys. (bio of Msgr. Raymond J. O'Brien copyright 2016 by St. Augustine Academy Press)