Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens
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.ePUB, 277 pages
Publication Date: 12 Nov 2019
By: Mulholland Books
About The Book:
After fifteen years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, high-school freshman Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. He dreams of glass towers and cityscapes, driven by his desire to be anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. The new kid at St. Ignatius High School, if he isn’t being pushed around, he is being completely ignored. Even his beloved woods, his playground as a child and his sanctuary as he grew older, seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him. Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady’s life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins--a black family settling into a community where notions of “us” and “them” carry the weight of history--forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he’s taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold: the mother who wraps herself in the loss of her husband, the neighbor who carries the wounds of a mysterious past that he holds close, the quiet boss who is fighting his own hidden battle. But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.
My Review:
What a well-written, gritty read with life lessons that abound. There are a lot of characters in this book and not all of them are very likable but they were so very real-like and well developed, Boady stole my heart, broke it into a million pieces, and then put it back together again. I won't soon forget him or Thomas (NOT TOM). This is a story about a small town, race, sexual orientation, and murder. That sounds like a lot but Eskens manages to weave a tale so seamlessly and engrossing I couldn't stop reading. The character development is some of the best I have ever read and the plot thickened throughout. I love coming-of-age stories, especially those of a historical nature. I found this one so damn rewarding. All. The. Stars.
Many thanks to Toronto Public Library Overdrive for my copy of the book.
.ePUB, 277 pages
Publication Date: 12 Nov 2019
By: Mulholland Books
About The Book:
After fifteen years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, high-school freshman Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. He dreams of glass towers and cityscapes, driven by his desire to be anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. The new kid at St. Ignatius High School, if he isn’t being pushed around, he is being completely ignored. Even his beloved woods, his playground as a child and his sanctuary as he grew older, seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him. Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady’s life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins--a black family settling into a community where notions of “us” and “them” carry the weight of history--forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he’s taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold: the mother who wraps herself in the loss of her husband, the neighbor who carries the wounds of a mysterious past that he holds close, the quiet boss who is fighting his own hidden battle. But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.
My Review:
There had been a great many hard times that summer, but there had been some good ones, too, and that day, that minute of happiness, made for one of the best.
What a well-written, gritty read with life lessons that abound. There are a lot of characters in this book and not all of them are very likable but they were so very real-like and well developed, Boady stole my heart, broke it into a million pieces, and then put it back together again. I won't soon forget him or Thomas (NOT TOM). This is a story about a small town, race, sexual orientation, and murder. That sounds like a lot but Eskens manages to weave a tale so seamlessly and engrossing I couldn't stop reading. The character development is some of the best I have ever read and the plot thickened throughout. I love coming-of-age stories, especially those of a historical nature. I found this one so damn rewarding. All. The. Stars.
Many thanks to Toronto Public Library Overdrive for my copy of the book.
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