First published 1986
Petey's world splits apart when his parents separate. He leaves Brooklyn behind and follows his father to a small village in upstate New York. His father used to be a cop. Now they both try to figure out how to live in this quiet rural place that feels nothing like home. Petey struggles with the move and everything that led to it. The sadness weighs on him heavily. His father keeps a pistol in the house from his police days. Petey finds himself drawn to the weapon. He begins playing dangerous games with it, testing fate and his own will to live. The games become a way to feel something other than the emptiness that follows him through his new life in the country.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Brooklyn, New York
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Hardcover · David R Godine Pub
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness