The Entire Sky

In Wilkins’s lovely latest (after Fall Back Down When I Die), a teenage drifter offers a grieving rancher a new lease on life. The year is 1994 and Rene Bouchard, 71, is a recent widower in tiny Delphi, Mont. He’s in the midst of planning his suicide when he discovers that his long-serving ranchhand has been neglecting the sheep and decides to take over. A parallel narrative follows Justin, a waifish 16-year-old from Seattle who runs away from home to escape his abusive uncle. After Justin wanders onto Rene’s land, Rene puts him to work, haunted by how Justin triggers memories of his youngest son Franklin, who was bullied as a teen and who died by suicide. The cast also includes Rene’s married daughter, Lianne, who sticks around after her mother’s funeral to work as a substitute teacher. Despite Lianne’s misgivings about Justin, she accepts her father’s rapport with the teen, though the trio’s stability is threatened by a homophobic neighbor. In flashbacks, Wilkins gradually reveals the depth of the pain carried by each of the characters. It adds up to a bracing story of second chances. Agent: Sally Wofford-Girand, Union Literary. (July)