Xan is trying to carve a niche for himself in his community, but it’s difficult living in the shadow of his older brother Robert, a college student and star athlete with a steady job. Positive adult role models are lacking in seventeen-year-old Xan’s life as his dad is out of the picture, and his mother has problems of her own, including drinking and growing debt. With Robert as narrator, the reader gets a very biased glimpse into what goes on in Xan’s head. We know Xan is discontent with the world around him and his desire to fix it creates a complex storm inside him, but the shift from peculiar behavior to violent acts is visible only through Xan’s words and actions. Just as memorable as National Book Award Finalist Inexcusable, Lynch creates a raw narrative about a young man near self-destruction.

Recommended by Carrie Shaurette, Librarian