by Jean Little
First published 1985
Martin Hastings knows what everyone thinks of him. The kids on Barkham Street cross to the other side when they see him coming. Teachers watch him with suspicious eyes. His reputation as the neighborhood bully follows him everywhere he goes. But Martin carries burdens nobody sees. At home, tensions simmer beneath the surface as family problems weigh on his shoulders. The anger that spills out at school starts somewhere deeper, in the lonely spaces where a frustrated boy struggles to make sense of his world. When Martin finally confronts what drives his behavior, he must decide whether to keep pushing others away or find a different path forward. This story reveals the complicated feelings behind a boy everyone fears but no one truly knows.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, adolescence, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, redemption
Setting: Barkham Street
Period: 20th-century
208 pages · Paperback · HarperCollins
Content warnings: abuse