First published 2021
Seventeen-year-old Marcus watches his younger brother flinch during another of their father's explosive dinner table lectures. The same lectures that once shaped Marcus into the star athlete and student everyone expects him to be. Now Marcus questions whether his father's demanding methods were strength-building discipline or something darker. As he navigates his senior year, Marcus must untangle his own identity from his father's forceful influence. He struggles to protect his brother while confronting the uncomfortable truth about the man who raised them. The pressure builds as Marcus realizes he can either perpetuate the cycle or find the courage to break it. This story explores how children inherit more than just genetics from their parents.
Genres: american-fiction, abuse, contemporary, adolescence
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cycle-of-abuse, found-family
Paperback
Content warnings: abuse, emotional-abuse, physical-abuse