by Adam Rapp
First published 2009
Punkzilla kicks his meth habit in Portland and decides to cross the country. The fourteen-year-old runaway wants to reach Memphis before his older brother dies of cancer. He rides buses, hitches rides, and sleeps in cheap motels as he makes his way east. Along the interstate he encounters strangers both threatening and kind. An abusive man frightens him. A mysterious girl appears and vanishes. A transsexual shows him unexpected compassion. An elderly woman with a festering eye infection needs help. Punkzilla writes letters to his gay brother throughout the journey, describing each person he meets and each mile that passes. His language is crude and honest as he documents the seedy underbelly of American highways. Time runs short as he pushes toward Tennessee. The road tests him with danger and small mercies in equal measure. Each encounter shapes him as he races against his brother's failing health.
Genres: fiction, addiction, adventure, coming-of-age, contemporary
Vibes: fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, road-trip
Setting: Portland, Memphis, Tennessee
Period: 21st-century
244 pages · Hardcover · Candlewick Press
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use