TeBordo offers a twisted take on adolescent suburban life at the end of the 20th century in his third novel (after The Conviction & Subsequent Life of Savior Neck
; Better Ways of Being Dead
). An unnamed 12-year-old narrator details the summer after his mother's death, when, ignored by his grieving father, the boy develops a crush on the “little bit older” neighbor Maria and begins receiving spam e-mail sent from his dead mother's e-mail address. Soon, the narrator's inbox is flooded with offers from his dead mother for herbal remedies, pornography, prescription drugs and mortgages, and the boy and his father are buying every item that comes their way. As the summer progresses, the e-mails from his mother peter out and Maria suddenly stops coming over. Alone and facing an increasingly volatile father, the boy becomes fixated on the last message sent from his mother; his quest leads him to an electric carving knife and a potentially disastrous decision for him and his father. TeBordo's wit and minimalist prose carry the slow-starting novel, and sprinklings of wry humor keep the narrative from become too macabre. TeBordo has crafted an unsettling portrait of the dark undercurrents of youth and loss. (Sept.)
