Though this book has few words, the story of Russell trying to cope as a teen in the 1950s imprinted into my mind as if it were a film. Small's prolonged silent sequences in the style of Hitchcock are especially poignant in a book centered on men, giving us the barest glimpse of how they feel. At the heart of this is a toxic masculinity that results in dire consequences for all the characters, and feels close to home in this political age.
Publisher description:
Thirteen-year-old Russell Pruitt, abandoned by his mother, follows his father to dilapidated 1950s Marshfield, California where he is forced to fend for himself against a ring of malicious bullies.