In his darkly humorous adult fiction debut, Fuqua (YA novels The Reappearance of Sam Webber
; Darby
; etc.) mines familiar territory: adolescent growing pains. Writing from the perspective of sixth-grader Caley, Fuqua crafts an intimate story of one boy's descent into depression and near-madness as he struggles to deal with his parents' divorce, their borderline negligence and occasional cruelty, and the instability and loneliness brought on by moving—from Virginia to Missouri to, eventually, Florida—every couple of months. Filled with self-loathing (“A better kid would've been a better person. I became a huge let-down to me”) and hopelessness, Caley develops insomnia, dabbles in petty crime and gets drunk with his older brother, Fulton. He finds a brief bit of respite and companionship in John, a similarly outcast Missouri schoolmate whose plight is worse than Caley's. Fuqua conveys pathos and heartbreak while maintaining Caley's rich voice; the coming-of-age narrative and straightforward arc should add YA crossover appeal. (Dec.)
