A good story, with a bit of the flavor of a young James Lee Burke. ( )

Well written coming of age story with two terrific characters, cousins trying to make their way in a family rife with secrets and strength. Some disjointed aspects to the plot decreased my enjoyment of the book somewhat, but I found it moving nonetheless. ( )

A very melancholy and moving miserable family book, but this time from the perspective of a teenage boy surrounded by women. When the novel opens, James ("Biscuit") is living with his grandmother, and he is joined by his cousin Lee Ann, also 16. Both have parents living in the same Texas town. Biscuit has "a touch of the Sight", which is well-handled by the author as just another twist of being part of a family where this ability is fairly common.

The author's brilliant words, showing Biscuit's strange combination of sharp understanding of deeply hidden feelings around him and his own naiveté, make this a compelling read. Whenever the separate worlds of the adults and the teens merge, disaster is in the air. In one instance, a dear elderly friend who is dying of cancer asks Biscuit to prepare her suicide potion: "All my words are old and tired, and I've had enough of them." When he returns from the mortar and pestle with the concoction, she awakens and pitifully cries, "Oh, NO, no no no, I was so mistaken. I ask - I beg - your pardon." But Biscuit is that trustable and trusting.

Biscuit reminds me of what Jem from "To Kill A Mockingbird" might have been, had Harper Lee told her tale from his perspective instead of Scout's. This novel almost reaches that fine literary level. ( )

Read this book out of order within two books featuring the characters Jim Bonham and LA. The second book is "Blackbird" however, there is about a twenty year gap in time between books. This is Tom Wright's debut novel and reviewers called it "seductively suspenseful," "lyrical and realistic," "unusually accomplished and evocative," while I thought it was ok but very interesting. It's a coming-of-age story with more than a few sometimes dark twists. Heck, the whole book is dark and twisted with almost all of the characters being dark and twisted. Some might think it's a bit heavy handed and goes to far. I was intrigued and invested into the two main characters enough that I liked the book and it's conclusion. Although it's not necessarily a "Happy" one it does end at a satisfying point. I did find something interesting after reading both books. In each book Jim and LA have a conversation with each other about the difference between being "Smart" and having a high "IQ". The only problem is that one explains it to the other is flipped between the two books and in "Blackbird" Jim acts like he's never thought of the difference before although he's the one to explain it in this book. ( )

coming of age story–James (Biscuit) already lives with his grandmother, but the arrival of his cousin L.A. (Lee Anne), nearly catatonic, begins a difficult year in which James becomes a man. The plot revolves primarily around L.A. and James’s discovery of a nude female body that leads police to other similar bodies and a hunt for a serial killer. Within these stories, James and L.A. must address their own abuse at the hands of their stepfathers, the history of abuse from their grandfather, the deaths of friends, James’s first love and sexual experience with Diana, and the ongoing threat James senses to L.A. culminating in the discovery of the threat and the serial killer. A fast, engaging read that captures the laziness of a summer day with the threat of learning what the world is as one moves toward adulthood. ( )