Crunchy Life: Book 1 No one ever said that life was easy for kids growing up in big cities. First, there's the big State Test. Then, there's the violence that happens in the neighborhoods. To add on to that, there are the bullies that kids have to face on a regular basis. If that isn't enough stress for a kid, there's the thought that at any moment your teacher might quit and leave you without ever saying goodbye. For ten-year-old Charles Anthony Thomas, it was only a matter of time before school became too overwhelming for him. Will he have what it takes to successfully navigate through the fifth-grade? Does he have what it takes to lead his sisters down a positive road? Or will life in the charter school system prove to be much more than Charles can handle?