First published 2016
Aaron Broussard watches Valerie Epstein argue with her boyfriend Grady Harrelson at a Houston drive-in theater. The high school junior intervenes, and soon he and Valerie begin dating. But Grady refuses to disappear quietly, and his father's criminal ties make him more dangerous than Aaron realizes. Set against 1950s Houston, where stoic fathers raise restless teenagers and souped-up Cadillacs cruise past drive-in movies, Aaron's world shifts beneath him. A class war divides the haves from the have-nots while the Korean War rages overseas. Aaron believes he has eliminated one threat, but multiple new dangers emerge to replace it. As he transforms from boy to man, Aaron discovers how first love, friendship, violence, and power can reshape what traditional America means. His evolution becomes a mirror for a larger world standing on the edge of great change.
Genres: romance, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, first-love
Setting: Houston, Texas
Period: 1950s
382 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: violence