cover image Badd

Badd

Tim Tharp, Knopf, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-375-86444-5

National Book Award Finalist Tharp's (The Spectacular Now) multi-layered story centers around Ceejay, a brash, defensive, but empathetic 16-year-old, eagerly awaiting the return of her beloved older brother, Bobby, from the war in Iraq, with the expectation that they will skip town together. When Bobby returns early, having been discharged for drug possession, Ceejay's family is disappointed and baffled by his uncharacteristically reckless behavior. Bobby drinks too much, cheats on his girlfriend, and spends most of his time with "Captain Crazy," a local eccentric who lost his own brother in Vietnam and is building an "aero-velocipede" flying sculpture while waging a mental war against negative internal and external forces, which he refers to as the "Nogo Gatu." Ceejay pines for the childhood version of her brother, when they were closely united by their tough reputations and moral fortitude. Without the strong connection to Bobby that helped define her, Ceejay is forced to seek a more autonomous identity, one that may require laying down her own armor. With convincing three-dimensional characters, Tharp paints a sympathetic portrait of the constraints of small town life, the struggles of PTSD, and the challenges of faith. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)