Financial assets grow in value with the passage of time. For debt, we call this "interest", and for equity, we call it "yield". Homer's book is the superbly recorded history of this phenomenon. Perhaps its greatest value is that when you hear or read a new theory, you can assess its validity by comparing the theory's implications with the historical evidence.

I read this when I was 13, in the eighth grade. It wasn't a very enjoyable or riveting story, although I did not reach a point where I simply wanted to drop it. It's about a young teen guy with an eccentric friend named Homer Fink, and they meet a girl their age. The plot involves which one she will choose as her boyfriend. Though Homer was a relatively odd guy, I don't recall any real humor from the story. It was the first work I read that examined romance at a contemporary (my own age) level, and was valuable from that perspective. It made the point that, at that age, one does not genuinely know what love means, regardless of how much a crush you have on someone. To appreciate this book, it has to hit you at the right time in life. It might be constructive for junior high school teachers to read it, and broach the subject of real romance -- affection between two young people -- with their students.

It feals as if Homer Fink is everybody you know and more. (He might also teach some of the greek gods)