First published 2025
Sixteen-year-old Nathaniel Rothstein arrives at Terry Tucker's Boxing Gym in Austin during the summer of 1998. Under the guidance of David Dalice, a Haitian ex-fighter, Nathaniel discovers confidence he never knew he possessed. His uncle Bob Alexander, who watches him for the summer, notices the boy becoming happier and more self-assured. Then Nathaniel vanishes without a trace. Across the city, Charles Rex, now calling himself X, struggles with his own identity while seeking connection through his mother's phone sex line work. When X and Nathaniel's paths cross, an unexpected romance develops, offering X a glimpse of the safety he craves. More than ten years later, Bob receives a tip about his nephew's disappearance and launches his own investigation. His search draws in former gym members, including twin brothers with opposing fortunes, an ambitious rookie police officer, and Alexis Cepeda, a talented lightweight boxer who crossed the border at fourteen using false identification. The investigation weaves through a changing America, exploring how identity shifts and transforms people's lives.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, coming-of-age, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, character-driven, emotional, gritty, introspective, suspenseful
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family, lgbtq-romance, mystery-investigation, unreliable-timeline
Setting: Terry Tucker's Boxing Gym, Austin, Texas
Period: 1998, summer
496 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: death, kidnapping