by Wiley Cash
First published 2012
Jess Hall lives in Marshall, North Carolina, where curiosity gets boys into trouble. His older brother Christopher, called Stump by everyone in town, cannot speak. Their mother warns them against spying on adults, but Stump sneaks a look at something forbidden. This single act destroys both brothers' worlds and forces Jess into early adulthood. He discovers that new knowledge brings both growing danger and the chance for freedom. The story unfolds through three voices: Jess himself, Adelaide Lyle the town midwife who serves as the community's moral center, and Sheriff Clem Barefield, a man carrying his own painful history. Together they navigate the evil that has taken root in their small town. Jess must find courage to face cruelty while protecting his vulnerable brother. The bond between the two boys becomes their source of strength against the darkness surrounding them.
Genres: american-fiction, abuse, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Marshall, North Carolina
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
309 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse